View source for Homosexuality and religion

{{Short description|Relationship between organized religions and homosexuality}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{see also|Religion and LGBTQ people}}
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[[File:The symbols of the different big world religions on a rainbow - flag at Queer Easter.jpg|thumb|Symbols of the [[World religions|world's largest religions]] displayed on [[Rainbow flag (LGBT)|rainbow flags]] at the Queer Easter, [[Germany]]]]

The relationship between '''religion and homosexuality''' has varied greatly across time and place, within and between different [[religion]]s and [[Religious denomination|denominations]], with regard to different forms of [[homosexuality]] and [[bisexuality]]. The present-day doctrines of the world's [[major religions]] and their denominations differ in their attitudes toward these [[sexual orientation]]s. Adherence to anti-gay religious beliefs and communities is correlated with the prevalence of emotional distress and suicidality in sexual minority individuals, and is a primary motivation for seeking [[conversion therapy]].<ref>{{cite book |author=KRISTIN A. HANCOCK AND DOUGLAS C. HALDEMAN|page=138|chapter=APA’S GUIDELINES FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICE WITH LESBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL CLIENTS AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION CHANGE EFFORTS: A Brief History|editor-last=Haldeman |editor-first=Douglas C. |title=The Case Against Conversion Therapy: Evidence, Ethics, and Alternatives |date=2022 |publisher=American Psychological Association |isbn=978-1-4338-3711-1 |language=en}}</ref>

Among the religious denominations which generally reject these orientations, there are many different types of opposition, ranging from quietly discouraging homosexual activity, explicitly forbidding same-sex sexual practices among their adherents and actively opposing social acceptance of homosexuality, supporting criminal sanctions up to [[capital punishment]], and even to condoning extrajudicial killings. [[Fundamentalism|Religious fundamentalism]] often correlates with anti-homosexual bias.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=McDermott|first1=Ryon C.|last2=Schwartz|first2=Jonathan P.|last3=Lindley|first3=Lori D.|last4=Proietti|first4=Josiah S.|title=Exploring men's homophobia: Associations with religious fundamentalism and gender role conflict domains|journal=Psychology of Men & Masculinity|volume=15|issue=2|pages=191–200|doi=10.1037/a0032788|year=2014}}</ref> Psychological research has connected religiosity with homophobic attitudes<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Whitley | first1 = B. E. Jr | year = 2009 | title = Religiosity and attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: A meta-analysis | journal = The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion | volume = 19 | pages = 21–38 | doi = 10.1080/10508610802471104 | s2cid = 144916048 }}</ref> and physical antigay hostility,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Blogowska | first1 = J. | last2 = Saroglou | first2 = V. | last3 = Lambert | first3 = C. | year = 2013 | title = Religious prosociality and aggression: It's real | journal = Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | volume = 52 | issue = 3| pages = 524–536 | doi = 10.1111/jssr.12048 }}</ref> and has traced religious opposition to gay adoption to collectivistic values (loyalty, authority, purity) and low flexibility in existential issues, rather than to high prosocial inclinations for the weak.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Deak | first1 = C. | last2 = Saroglou | first2 = V. | year = 2015 | title = Opposing abortion, gay adoption, euthanasia, and suicide: Compassionate openness or self-centered moral rigorism? | journal = Archive for the Psychology of Religion | volume = 37 | pages = 267–294 | doi = 10.1163/15736121-12341309 | s2cid = 28960401 }}</ref> Attitudes toward homosexuality have been found to be determined not only by personal religious beliefs, but by the interaction of those beliefs with the predominant national religious context—even for people who are less religious or who do not share their local dominant religious context.<ref name="Adamczyk">{{cite book | last=Adamczyk|first=Amy |title=Cross-National Public Opinion about Homosexuality: Examining Attitudes across the Globe| year=2017|publisher=University of California Press|pages=17–18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wly8DQAAQBAJ|isbn=9780520963597 }}</ref> Many argue that it is homosexual actions which are sinful, rather than same-sex attraction itself. To this end, some discourage labeling individuals according to sexual orientation.<ref name=AACC_coe>{{cite web |title=Code of Ethics, American Association of Christian Counselors |url=http://aacc.net/files/AACC%20Code%20of%20Ethics%20-%20Master%20Document.pdf#page=15 |publisher=American Association of Christian Counselors |access-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213065814/http://aacc.net/files/AACC%20Code%20of%20Ethics%20-%20Master%20Document.pdf#page=15 |archive-date=13 February 2015}}</ref> Several organizations assert that [[conversion therapy]] can help diminish same-sex attraction.

Some adherents of [[LGBT-affirming religious groups|many religions]] view homosexuality and bisexuality positively, and some denominations routinely bless [[same-sex marriage]]s and support [[LGBT rights]], a growing trend as much of the [[developed world]] enacts laws supporting LGBT rights.

Historically, some cultures and religions accommodated, institutionalized, or revered same-sex love and sexuality;<ref name = BOSWELL1>{{Cite news | last= Boswell | first= John | publisher= University Of Chicago Press | year= 2005 | title = Christianity, social tolerance, and homosexuality}}</ref><ref name = ASIA>{{Cite news | last1= Dynes | first1= Wayne | last2= Donaldson |first2=Stephen | title= Asian homosexuality | publisher= Routledge | year= 1992 }}</ref> such [[LGBT themes in mythology|mythologies and traditions]] can be found around the world.<ref name = CARPENTER1>{{Cite news | last= Carpenter | first= Edward | title= Intermediate Types among Primitive Types: A Study in Social Evolution | publisher= Mitchell Kennerley | location= New York | year= 1914 }}</ref> While Hinduism does not condemn homosexuality exclusively, it does often have a negative view on sexual activity generally (especially for the upper class of monks and priests),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Hinduism |url=https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-hinduism |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=Human Rights Campaign |language=en-US}}</ref> and one can find numerous portrayals of homosexuality in Hindu literature and artworks. Also there is an important point to note that Hindus have a god or a symbol called Hari Hara which resembles both men and women. i.e Half man and half woman.<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=The Legal, Colonial, and Religious Contexts of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health in India |url=https://repository.wellesley.edu/islandora/object/ir%3A826/datastream/PDF/download |last=Mohan |first=Tanushree |date=April 2018 |publisher=Wellesley College |access-date=January 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109213733/https://repository.wellesley.edu/islandora/object/ir%3A826/datastream/PDF/download |archive-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref> Sikh wedding ceremonies are non-gender specific, and so same-sex marriage is possible within [[Sikhism]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://wahegurunet.com/gay-sikh/ |title=Gay Sikh |website=WaheguruNet |access-date=January 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201125539/https://wahegurunet.com/gay-sikh/ |archive-date=December 1, 2012}}</ref>

Regardless of their position on homosexuality, many people of faith look to both [[sacred text]]s and [[tradition]] for guidance on this issue. However, the authority of various traditions or scriptural passages and the correctness of [[translation]]s and interpretations are continually disputed.

==Specific religious groups==
[[File:Rainbow flag with icons of world religions.svg|thumb|right|Symbols of the world religions of some [[LGBTQ community|LGBTQ people]].]]

=== Ancient Mesopotamian religion ===
{{Main|Ancient Mesopotamian religion}}

Individuals who went against the traditional [[gender binary]] were heavily involved in the cult of [[Inanna]], an ancient Mesopotamian goddess.<ref name=":32">{{cite book |last1=Leick |first1=Gwendolyn |title=Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-203-41428-6 |oclc=1120210531}}{{page needed|date=December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=LGBTQ+ in the Ancient World |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1790/lgbtq-in-the-ancient-world/ |access-date=2021-08-28 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref> During Sumerian times, a set of priests known as ''[[Gala (priests)|gala]]'' worked in Inanna's temples, where they performed elegies and lamentations.<ref name=":32" /> Men who became ''gala'' sometimes adopted female names and their songs were composed in the Sumerian ''[[Sumerian language#Dialects|eme-sal]]'' dialect, which, in literary texts, is normally reserved for the speech of female characters. Some Sumerian proverbs seem to suggest that ''gala'' had a reputation for engaging in [[anal sex]] with men.<ref name=":42">{{cite book |last1=Murray |first1=Stephen O |title=Islamic homosexualities: culture, history, and literature |date=1997 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-7467-0 |oclc=35526232}}{{page needed|date=December 2021}}</ref> During the Akkadian Period, ''kurgarrū'' and ''assinnu'' were servants of Ishtar who [[Cross-dressing|dressed in female clothing]] and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples.<ref name=":42" /> Several Akkadian [[proverb]]s seem to suggest that they may have also had homosexual proclivities.<ref name=":42" /> Gwendolyn Leick, an anthropologist known for her writings on Mesopotamia, has compared these individuals to the contemporary Indian ''[[Hijra (South Asia)|hijra]].''<ref name=":32" /> In one Akkadian hymn, Ishtar is described as transforming men into women.<ref name=":42" /> Some modern pagans include Inanna in their worship.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rountree |first1=Kathryn |title=Cosmopolitanism, nationalism, and modern paganism |date=2017 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=978-1-137-56200-5 |oclc=966491570}}{{page needed|date=December 2021}}</ref>

=== Abrahamic religions ===
[[File:Kissing Jim Austin Jimages.jpg|thumb|right|Two men kissing at a [[Pride parade|pride event]] while wearing symbols of two Abrahamic religions.]]

The [[Abrahamic religion]]s of [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]], have traditionally forbidden [[sodomy]], believing and teaching that such behavior is [[sin]]ful.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=29699 |title=Bishop Soto Tells NACDLGM: 'Homosexuality is Sinful' |last=Gilbert |first=Kathleen |date=September 29, 2008 |website=Catholic Online |access-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930122028/http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=29699 |archive-date=September 30, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ag.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers/Homosexuality-Marriage-and-Sexual-Identity |title=Homosexuality, marriage, and sexual identity (adopted by the General Presbytery in session August 4-5, 2014) |website=Assemblies of God |access-date=January 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214210350/https://ag.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers/Homosexuality-Marriage-and-Sexual-Identity |archive-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref>  Today some denominations within these religions are accepting of homosexuality and inclusive of homosexual people, such as [[Reform Judaism]], the [[United Church of Christ]] and the [[Metropolitan Community Church]]. Some [[Presbyterian]], [[Anglicanism|Anglican]], Lutheran, and Methodist churches welcome members regardless of same-sex sexual practices, with some provinces allowing for the ordination and inclusion of gay and lesbian clerics, and affirmation of same-sex unions.<ref name="Masci 2020">{{cite web | last=Masci | first=David | title=Where Christian churches, other religions stand on gay marriage | website=Pew Research Center | date=2020-07-27 | url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/21/where-christian-churches-stand-on-gay-marriage/ | access-date=2023-04-04}}</ref><ref name="Farley 2021">{{cite web | last=Farley | first=Harry | title=Methodist Church allows same-sex marriage in 'momentous' vote - BBC News | website=BBC News | date=2021-06-30 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-57658161 | access-date=2023-04-04}}</ref> Reform Judaism incorporates lesbian and gay rabbis and same-sex marriage liturgies, while [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] and Conservative Judaism in the US allows for lesbian and gay rabbis and same-sex unions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120601247.html|title=Conservative Rabbis Allow Ordained Gays, Same-Sex Unions|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref>

====Judaism====
{{Main|Jewish views on homosexuality}}
[[File:Homophobic protestors-02. Haifa 2010.jpg|thumb|[[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] protesters holding Anti-LGBT Protest signs during the Gay Pride parade in [[Haifa]], Israel (2010)]]

The [[Torah]] (first five books of the [[Tanakh|Hebrew Bible]]) is the primary source for Jewish views on homosexuality. It states that: "[A man] shall not lie with another man as [he would] with a woman, it is {{lang|hbo|תועבה}} ({{transliteration|hbo|to'eba}}, "abomination")" ([[Leviticus]] 18:22).<ref>{{bibleverse|Leviticus|18:22|HE}}</ref> (Like many similar commandments, the stated punishment for willful violation is the [[death penalty]], although in practice [[rabbi]]nic Judaism no longer believes it has the authority to implement death penalties.)

[[Orthodox Judaism]] views homosexual acts as sinful. In recent years, there have been approaches<ref>{{Cite web |last=DORFF |first=ELLIOT N. |last2=NEVINS |first2=DANIEL S. |last3=REISNER |first3=AVRAM I.|display-authors=1 |date=December 6, 2006 |title=HOMOSEXUALITY, HUMAN DIGNITY & HALAKHAH: A COMBINED RESPONSUM FOR THE COMMITTEE ON JEWISH LAW AND STANDARDS |url=http://rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/20052010/dorff_nevins_reisner_dignity.pdf |access-date=3 Feb 2025 |publisher=The Rabbinical Assembly}}</ref> claiming that only the sexual anal act is forbidden and considered an abomination by the Torah, while sexual orientation and even other sexual activities are not considered a sin. [[Conservative Judaism]] has engaged in an in-depth study of homosexuality since the 1990s, with various rabbis presenting a wide array of [[responsa]] (papers with legal arguments) for communal consideration. The official position of the movement is to welcome homosexual Jews into their [[synagogue]]s, and also campaign against any discrimination in [[Civil law (private law)|civil law]] and public society, but also to uphold a ban on anal sex as a religious requirement.

[[File:Pride Minyan.jpg|thumb|A halakhic egalitarian Pride [[minyan]] in [[Tel Aviv]] on the second Shabbat of [[Hanukkah]] with a rainbow [[Hanukkah menorah|menorah]]]]

[[Reform Judaism]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] in [[North America]] and [[Liberal Judaism (UK)|Liberal Judaism]] in the [[United Kingdom]] view homosexuality to be acceptable on the same basis as [[heterosexuality]]. Progressive Jewish authorities believe either that traditional laws against homosexuality are no longer binding or that they are subject to changes that reflect a new understanding of human sexuality.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dorff |first1=Elliot N. |last2=Novak |first2=David |last3=Mackler |first3=Aaron L. |date=2008 |title=Homosexuality: A Case Study in Jewish Ethics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23562843 |journal=Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=225–235 |doi=10.5840/jsce200828134 |jstor=23562843 |issn=1540-7942|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Some of these authorities rely on modern biblical scholarship suggesting that the prohibition in the Torah was intended to ban coercive or ritualized male-male sex, such as those practices ascribed to [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] and [[Canaan]]ite [[fertility cult]]s and [[sacred prostitution|temple prostitution]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/articles/219_liberals_recognise_c.htm|title=Liberals recognise committed same-sex partnerships|access-date=22 August 2015|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924103725/http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/articles/219_liberals_recognise_c.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xOmU5q1x8HsC&q=judaism%20homosexual&pg=PA29|title=Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition|last=Greenberg|first=Steven|date=23 February 2004|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=9780299190934|language=en}}</ref>

====Christianity====
[[File:Gay Cross.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Symbolic depiction of the intersection of [[Christianity]] and [[LGBTQ community|LGBTQ people]], combining the [[Christian cross]] and [[Rainbow flag (LGBTQ)|LGBTQ rainbow flag]]]]
{{Main|Christianity and homosexuality|Christianity and sexual orientation}}

The [[Hebrew Bible]]/[[Old Testament]] and its traditional interpretations in [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]] have historically affirmed and endorsed a [[Patriarchy|patriarchal]] and [[Heteronormativity|heteronormative]] approach towards [[human sexuality]],<ref name="Mbuwayesango 2016">{{cite book |author-last=Mbuwayesango |author-first=Dora R. |year=2016 |orig-date=2015 |chapter=Part III: The Bible and Bodies – Sex and Sexuality in Biblical Narrative |editor-last=Fewell |editor-first=Danna N. |editor-link=Danna Nolan Fewell |title=The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Narrative |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=456–465 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199967728.013.39 |isbn=9780199967728 |lccn=2015033360 |s2cid=146505567}}</ref><ref name="Leeming 2003">{{cite journal |author-last=Leeming |author-first=David A. |author-link=David Adams Leeming |date=June 2003 |title=Religion and Sexuality: The Perversion of a Natural Marriage |editor-last=Carey |editor-first=Lindsay B. |journal=[[Journal of Religion and Health]] |publisher=[[Springer Verlag]] |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=101–109 |doi=10.1023/A:1023621612061 |issn=1573-6571 |jstor=27511667 |s2cid=38974409}}</ref> favouring exclusively [[Heterosexual intercourse|penetrative vaginal intercourse between men and women]] within the boundaries of [[marriage]] over all other forms of [[human sexual activity]],<ref name="Mbuwayesango 2016"/><ref name="Leeming 2003"/> including [[autoeroticism]], [[masturbation]], [[oral sex]], [[Non-penetrative sex|non-penetrative]] and [[Homosexual sexual practices|non-heterosexual]] sexual intercourse (all of which have been labeled as "[[sodomy]]" at various times),<ref>{{cite book |last=Sauer |first=Michelle M. |year=2015 |chapter=The Unexpected Actuality: “Deviance” and Transgression |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U8mBCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA74 |title=Gender in Medieval Culture |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |pages=74–78 |doi=10.5040/9781474210683.ch-003 |isbn=978-1-4411-2160-8}}</ref> believing and teaching that such behaviors are forbidden because they are considered [[sin]]ful,<ref name="Mbuwayesango 2016"/><ref name="Leeming 2003"/> and further compared to or derived from the behavior of the alleged residents of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]].<ref name="Gnuse 2015"/><ref name="Mbuwayesango 2016"/>

[[File:2006 protesters at union square.jpg|thumb|right|[[Christian right|Conservative Christian]] protesters at a 2006 [[San Francisco Pride]] event]]

[[Christian denominations]] hold a variety of views on [[homosexual]] sex, ranging from outright condemnation to complete acceptance.  Throughout the majority of [[History of Christianity|Christian history]], most [[Christian theology|Christian theologians]] and denominations have considered homosexual sex as [[immoral]] or [[Sin in Christianity|sinful]].<ref name="Gnuse 2015">{{cite journal |last=Gnuse |first=Robert K. |date=May 2015 |title=Seven Gay Texts: Biblical Passages Used to Condemn Homosexuality |journal=[[Biblical Theology Bulletin]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] on behalf of Biblical Theology Bulletin Inc. |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=68–87 |doi=10.1177/0146107915577097 |issn=1945-7596 |s2cid=170127256}}</ref><ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Koenig|first1=Harold G.|last2=Dykman|first2=Jackson|title=Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry|year=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=9780521889520|pages=43|quote=the overwhelming majority of Christian churches have maintained their positions that homosexual sex is sinful}}</ref> Most Christian denominations welcome people attracted to the same sex, but teach that homosexual sex is [[sinful]].<ref name="UMC - Sexuality">{{cite web|url = http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?mid=1728|title = Human Sexuality|publisher = The United Methodist Church|access-date = 16 May 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url = https://archive.today/20120701151202/http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?mid=1728|archive-date = 1 July 2012|df = dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="part three" /><ref name="Cambridge University Press" /> These denominations include the [[Roman Catholic Church]],<ref name="part three" /> the [[Eastern Orthodox]] church,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oca.org/DOCmarriage.asp?SID=12&ID=26|title=Holy Synod – Encyclicals – Synodal Affirmations on Marriage, Family, Sexuality, and the Sanctity of Life|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> the [[Oriental Orthodox]] churches,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://saintsjoachimandanne.net/spiritual-blogging/item/53-is-the-armenian-church-against-homosexuality |title=Is the Armenian Church Against Homosexuality? |date=September 14, 2015 |website=Armenian Apostolic Church |access-date=October 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118225930/http://saintsjoachimandanne.net/spiritual-blogging/item/53-is-the-armenian-church-against-homosexuality |archive-date=18 January 2017}}</ref> [[Confessional Lutheranism|Confessional Lutheran]] [[List of Lutheran denominations|denominations]] such as the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lcms.org/socialissues/sexuality|title=Sexuality|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lcms.org/faqs/lcmsviews#homosexuality|title=Frequently Asked Questions – LCMS Views|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> and the [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wels.net/about-wels/what-we-believe/doctrinal-statements/homosexuality/|title=WELS – Homosexuality|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wels.net/faq/god-allowing-homosexuality/|title=WELS – God allowing homosexuality?|date=26 May 2015 |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> and some other [[Mainline (Protestant)|mainline]] denominations, such as the [[Reformed Church in America]]<ref name="RCA - Homosexuality">{{cite web|url=http://www.rca.org/Page.aspx?pid=501|title=Summaries of General Synod Discussions and Actions on Homosexuality and the Rights of Homosexuals|publisher=Reformed Church in America|access-date=21 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716233212/https://www.rca.org/Page.aspx?pid=501|archive-date=16 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the [[American Baptist Churches USA|American Baptist Church]],<ref name="ABC- Homosexuality">{{cite web|url=http://www.abc-usa.org/WhoWeAre/Identity/IdentityStatement/tabid/78/Default.aspx|title=We Are American Baptists|publisher=American Baptist Churches USA|access-date=21 November 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902071502/http://www.abc-usa.org/WhoWeAre/Identity/IdentityStatement/tabid/78/Default.aspx|archive-date=2 September 2009}}</ref> as well as [[Conservative Evangelical]] organizations and churches, such as the [[Evangelical Alliance]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.eauk.org/resources/publications/upload/Homosexuality.pdf |title=Evangelical Alliance (UK): ''Faith, Hope and Homosexuality'' |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008230441/http://www.eauk.org/resources/publications/upload/Homosexuality.pdf |archive-date=8 October 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] groups and churches, such as the [[Southern Baptist Convention]].<ref name=southernbaptists>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/pssexuality.asp|title=Southern Baptist Convention|access-date=22 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003031920/http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/pssexuality.asp|archive-date=3 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fellowshipalliance.com/homosexuality.htm |title=Statement on Homosexuality |website=Fellowship Alliance Church |access-date=October 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825114756/http://www.fellowshipalliance.com/homosexuality.htm |archive-date=25 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epc.org/about-the-epc/position-papers/homosexuality/|title=EPC|access-date=22 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921143128/http://epc.org/about-the-epc/position-papers/homosexuality/|archive-date=21 September 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Pentecostal]] churches such as the [[Assemblies of God]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Position_Papers/pp_downloads/pp_4181_homosexuality.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123040455/http://www.ag.org/top/beliefs/Position_Papers/pp_downloads/pp_4181_homosexuality.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Homosexuality|archive-date=23 November 2011}}</ref> as well as [[Restorationist]] churches, like [[Iglesia ni Cristo]], the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] and [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], also take the position that homosexual sexual activity is sinful.<ref>{{cite journal |date=February 2007 |pages=28–30 |url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102007051 |title=Homosexuality – How Can I Avoid It? |journal=Awake! |access-date=January 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531233828/http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102007051 |archive-date=May 31, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/public-issues/same-gender-attraction |title=Interview With Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Lance B. Wickman: "Same-Gender Attraction" |work=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints |access-date=January 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211004502/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/public-issues/same-gender-attraction |archive-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref>

[[Liberal Christianity|Liberal Christians]] are generally supportive of homosexuals. Some Christian denominations do not view [[monogamous]] same sex relationships as bad or [[evil]]. These include the [[United Church of Canada]], the [[United Church of Christ]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/national/05church.html |title=United Church of Christ Backs Same-Sex Marriage |last=Dewan |first=Shaila |date=July 5, 2005 |website=The New York Times |access-date=October 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501014902/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/national/05church.html |archive-date=May 1, 2011}}</ref> the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]],<ref>[https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2022/07/28/with-same-sex-marriage-in-the-spotlight-where-does-it-stand-across-the-anglican-communion/ Episcopalnewsservice: With same-sex marriage in the spotlight, where does it stand across the Anglican Communion?], July 18, 2022</ref> the [[Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)]],<ref>[https://www.pcusa.org/news/2015/3/20/what-same-sex-marriage-means-presbyterians/ PCusa.org: What same-sex marriage means to Presbyterians], March 20, 2015</ref> the churches of the [[Union of Utrecht (Old Catholic)|Old Catholic Union of Utrecht]], the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]], the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada]], the [[Church of Sweden]],<ref>[https://www.thelocal.se/20091022/22810 TheLocal.se: Church of Sweden says yes to gay marriage]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8321502.stm BBC: Sweden church allows gay weddings], October 22, 2009</ref> the Lutheran, reformed and united churches in [[Evangelical Church of Germany]], the [[Church of Denmark]],<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE8570UU/ Reuters.com:New Danish law lets homosexuals wed in church], June 8, 2015</ref> the [[Icelandic Church]],<ref>[https://grapevine.is/news/2015/10/29/icelandic-priests-cannot-deny-gay-marriage/ grapevine.is: Icelandic Priests Cannot Deny Gay Marriage], October 29, 2015</ref> the [[Church of Norway]]<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN15E1O1/ Reuters: Norway's Lutheran Church embraces same-sex marriage], January 31, 2017</ref> and the [[Protestant Church of the Netherlands]]. In particular, the [[Metropolitan Community Church]], a denomination of 40,000 members, was founded specifically to serve the Christian LGBT community, and is devoted to being open and affirming to [[LGBTQ]] people. The United Church of Christ, the [[United Methodist Church]] (UMC)<ref>[https://www.advocate.com/news/united-methodist-church-lgbtq-clergy Advocate.com: United Methodist Church ends 40-year ban on LGBTQ+ clergy], 1 May 2024</ref><ref>[https://www.umnews.org/en/news/40-year-ban-on-gay-clergy-struck-down UMNews: 40-year ban on gay clergy struck down], 1 May 2024</ref> and the [[Alliance of Baptists]] also condone [[gay marriage]], and some parts of the [[Anglican]] and [[Lutheran]] churches allow for the blessing of gay unions. Within the Anglican communion there are openly gay clergy; for example, [[Gene Robinson]] and [[Mary Glasspool]] are openly homosexual bishops in the US Episcopal Church and [[Eva Brunne]] in Lutheran Church of Sweden. The Episcopal Church's recent actions vis-a-vis homosexuality have brought about increased ethical debate and tension within the [[Church of England]] and worldwide Anglican churches. In the United States and many other nations, the religious people are becoming more affirming of same-sex relationships. Even those in denominations with official stances are liberalizing, though not as quickly as those in more affirming religious groups.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schnabel|first=Landon|date=1 January 2016|title=Gender and homosexuality attitudes across religious groups from the 1970s to 2014: Similarity, distinction, and adaptation|journal=Social Science Research|volume=55|pages=31–47|doi=10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.09.012|pmid=26680286|url=http://osf.io/3p6wt/|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 

[[File:2010 Pride parade in San Francisco with counter-protestors.jpg|thumb|left|Religious protest against homosexuality in San Francisco]]

Passages from the [[Mosaic Covenant]] and its broader [[Old Testament]] context have been interpreted to mean that anyone who is engaging in homosexual practices should be punished with death ([[Leviticus]] 20:13;<ref>{{bibleverse|Leviticus|20:13}}</ref> cf. [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 19:4–25;<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|19:4-25}}</ref> [[Book of Judges|Judges]] 19:22–20:48;<ref>{{bibleverse|Judges|19:22-20:48}}</ref> [[2 Peter]] 2:6–10;<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Peter|2:6-10}}</ref> [[Epistle of Jude|Jude]] 7).<ref>{{bibleverse|Jude|7}}</ref> [[HIV/AIDS]] has also been portrayed by some Christian fundamentalists such as [[Fred Phelps]] and [[Jerry Falwell]] as a punishment by God against homosexuals.<ref>Bass, Ellen and Kate Kaufman. ''Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youth and their Allies.'' New York: HarperPerennial, 1996.</ref> In the 20th century, theologians like [[Karl Barth]], [[Jürgen Moltmann]], [[Hans Küng]], [[John A. T. Robinson|John Robinson]], [[David Edward Jenkins|Bishop David Jenkins]], [[Don Cupitt]], and [[John Shelby Spong|Bishop Jack Spong]] challenged traditional theological positions and understandings of the Bible; following these developments some have suggested that passages have been mistranslated, are taken out of context, or that they do not refer to what is generally understood as "homosexuality."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibl.htm |title=Judeo-Christianity and homosexuality |website=Religious Tolerance |access-date=October 4, 2021 |archive-date=5 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205093701/http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibl.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hrmcc.org/Resources/StudyDocuments/bibleand.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120802131304/http://www.hrmcc.org/Resources/StudyDocuments/bibleand.htm|url-status=dead|title=Homosexuality and the Bible, Rev. Clay Witt, Holy Redeemer M.C.C., 1995|archive-date=2 August 2012}}</ref>

Conservative denominations<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lcms.org/socialissues/sexuality |title=Sexuality |website=The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod |access-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124130347/http://www.lcms.org/socialissues/sexuality |archive-date=November 24, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=1721 |title=Theological Implications of the 2009 ELCA Decisions |date=March 10, 2010 |publisher=The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod |access-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091803/http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=1721 |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=508 |title=A Plan for Ministry to Homosexuals and Their Families |date=1999 |publisher=The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod |access-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110234/http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=508 |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=319 |title=Human Sexuality: A Theological Perspective |date=September 1981 |publisher=Social Concerns Committee |access-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105214956/http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=319 |archive-date=5 January 2016}}</ref> generally oppose same-sex sexual relations based on Old Testament and [[New Testament]] texts that describe human sexual relations as strictly [[heterosexual]] by God's design.{{efn|Passages used to support this view include [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 2:18–24;<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|2:18-24}}</ref> Genesis 1:26–28;<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|1:26-28}}</ref> [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 19:4–6;<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|19:4-6}}</ref> [[1 Corinthians]] 7:1–40;<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|7:1–40}}</ref> and [[Ephesians]] 5:22–33.<ref>{{bibleverse|Ephesians|5:22–33}}</ref>}} As such, it is argued that sexual desires and actions that contradict God's design are deemed sinful and are condemned by God (e.g. [[Leviticus 18:22]]; cf. [[Leviticus 20:13]]). Since love does not rejoice in unrighteousness or iniquity (cf. [[1 Corinthians]] 13:6),<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|13:6}}</ref> and since homosexual desires and actions are believed to remain contrary to God's design and condemned by God as sinful/iniquity (e.g. ''in general'', [[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 126–27;<ref>{{bibleverse|Romans|1:26-27}}</ref> ''passively'', 1 Corinthians 6:96:9;<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|6:9}}</ref><ref>[[Bauer lexicon|BDAG]], "μαλακός, ή, όν."</ref> ''actively'', including but '''not''' limited to ''pederasty,'' 1 Corinthians 6:9;<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|6:9}}</ref> [[1 Timothy]] 1:9-11;<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Timothy|1:9-11}}</ref><ref>[[Bauer lexicon|BDAG]], "ἀρσενοκοίτης, ου, ὁ."</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/does-paul-condemn-homosexuality-in-1-corinthians-and-1-timothy-12362/|title=Does Paul Condemn Homosexuality in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy?|newspaper=[[The Christian Post]]|last=Schumacher|first=Robin|date=6 October 2012|access-date=1 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011101629/http://blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/does-paul-condemn-homosexuality-in-1-corinthians-and-1-timothy-12362/|archive-date=11 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> considered sexually ''immoral'', [[Epistle to the Galatians|Galatians]] 5:19-21;<ref>{{bibleverse|Galatians|5:19-21}}</ref> [[Colossians]] 3:5-7;<ref>{{bibleverse|Colossians|3:5–7}}</ref> [[Ephesians]] 5:3<ref>{{bibleverse|Ephesians|5:3}}</ref><ref>BDAG, "ἀκαθαρσία, ας, ἡ."</ref>), adherents of conservative denominations believe that genuine love for God and humanity is best expressed by following God rather than the world ([[Acts]] 5:29;<ref>{{bibleverse||Acts|5:29}}</ref> cf. [[Jeremiah]] 23:1-40;<ref>{{bibleverse|Jeremiah|23:1–40}}</ref> [[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 12:9<ref>{{bibleverse||Romans|12:9}}</ref>).

While the Catholic view is founded on a [[natural law]] argument informed by scripture and proposed by [[Thomas Aquinas]],<ref name="part three">{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - Part Three Life in Christ |website=Vatican |access-date=October 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010127105100/https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm |archive-date=27 January 2001}}</ref> the traditional conservative Protestant view is based on an interpretation of scripture alone. Protestant conservatives also see homosexual relationships as an impediment to heterosexual relationships. They interpret some Biblical passages to be commandments to be heterosexually married.<ref>{{cite web |first=Sheri L. |last=Dew |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2001/11/it-is-not-good-for-man-or-woman-to-be-alone |title=It Is Not Good for Man or Woman to Be Alone |website=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints |access-date=October 4, 2021}}</ref>  Catholics, on the other hand, have accommodated unmarried people as priests, monks, nuns and single lay people for over 1,000 years. A number of self-described gay and '[[ex-gay]]' Christians have reported satisfaction in [[mixed-orientation marriage]]s.<ref name=Moore07>{{cite news|url=http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660207378,00.html|title=Gay LDS men detail challenges|newspaper=[[Deseret Morning News]]|last=Moore|first=Carrie A.|date=30 March 2007|access-date=27 June 2008|archive-date=13 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313070401/http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0%2C1249%2C660207378%2C00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|date=11 March 2002|title=No Easy Victory|magazine=Christianity Today|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/march11/2.50.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0704/05/acd.01.html|title=Sex and Salvation|author=Cooper, Anderson|date=5 April 2007|publisher=[[Anderson Cooper 360°]]|author-link=Anderson Cooper}}</ref>

=====Catholic Church=====
{{Main|Catholic Church and homosexuality}}
The [[Catholic Church]] teaches that those who are attracted to persons of the same sex are called to practice [[chastity]],<ref name="part three" /> just like everyone else has to before they get married.<ref name="part three" /> The Catholic Church does not regard homosexual activity as an expression of the [[Marriage in the Catholic Church|marital sacrament]], which it teaches is only possible within a lifelong commitment of a marriage between a man and a woman. According to [[Catholic teachings on sexual morality|the Church's sexual ethics]], homosexual activity falls short in the [[Complementarianism|complementarity]] (male and female organs complement each other) and [[fecundity]] (openness to new life) of the sexual act. Few studies of parishioners' individual views are sometimes at variance with the church's non-acceptance of homosexuality.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://religionnews.com/2015/06/30/ranking-churches-on-acceptance-of-homosexuality-plus-their-reactions-to-scotus-ruling/|title=Ranking religions on acceptance of homosexuality and reactions to SCOTUS ruling|date=30 June 2015}}</ref>

=====Latter-day Saints=====
[[File:SLC Temple Rainbow Flag.jpg|thumb|right|170 px|An LGBT [[Rainbow flag (LGBT)|pride flag]] in front of the [[Salt Lake Temple|Salt Lake City temple]] in Utah.]]
{{main|Homosexuality and the LDS Church}}

All homosexual or same-sex sexual activity is forbidden by [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) in its [[law of chastity]], and the church teaches that [[God in Mormonism|God]] does not approve of [[same-sex marriage]] and may punish same-sex sexual behavior with a [[disciplinary council]].<ref name=SSM>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/same-sex-marriage?lang=eng&_r=1 |title=Same-Sex Marriage|publisher=LDS Church}}</ref> Members of the church who experience homosexual attractions, including those who [[Sexual identity|self-identify]] as gay, lesbian, or bisexual remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from same-sex marriage and all sexual relations outside an opposite-sex marriage,<ref name=Label>{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions|url=https://mormonandgay.churchofjesuschrist.org/articles/frequently-asked-questions|website=Mormon and Gay|publisher=LDS Church|date=October 2016|quote=If you experience same-sex attraction, you may choose to use a sexual orientation label to describe yourself. ... If you decide to ... openly identify as gay, you should be supported.}}</ref><ref name="Oaks-Wickman 2007">{{cite interview |first=Dallin H. |last=Oaks |subject-link= Dallin H. Oaks |first2=Lance B. |last2=Wickman |subject-link2=Lance B. Wickman |interviewer=LDS Church Public Affairs staffers |title=Same-Gender Attraction |url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/interview-oaks-wickman-same-gender-attraction |type=Interview: Transcript |work=Newsroom |publisher=LDS Church |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |date=September 2006}} See also the Salt Lake Tribune archived transcript [http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4275317&itype=NGPSID here].</ref><ref name="hinckley98">{{cite journal |last=Hinckley |first=Gordon B. |author-link=Gordon B. Hinckley |title=What Are People Asking about Us? |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1998/11/what-are-people-asking-about-us?lang=eng |journal=[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] |date=November 1998 |publisher=LDS Church}}</ref> but all, including those participating in same-sex activity and relationships, are allowed to attend weekly church worship services.<ref name=Worship>{{cite web |url=http://www.mormon.org/worship#what-to-expect |title=Worship with Us: What to Expect |work=mormon.org |publisher=LDS Church |access-date=July 2, 2014 |archive-date=15 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215155922/https://www.mormon.org/worship#what-to-expect |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, in order to receive [[Ordinance (Latter Day Saints)|church ordinances]] such as [[Baptism in Mormonism|baptism]], and to enter church [[Temple (Latter Day Saints)|temples]], adherents are required to abstain from same-sex relations.<ref name=GTT>{{citation |url = https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/temples?lang=eng&_r=1 |title= Gospel Topics: Temples |work= churchofjesuschrist.org |publisher= LDS Church |access-date= July 2, 2014}}</ref><ref name=Disciplinary>{{citation |url = https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/church-disciplinary-councils?lang=eng&_r=1 |title= Gospel Topics: Church Disciplinary Councils |work= churchofjesuschrist.org |publisher= [[LDS Church]] |access-date= July 2, 2014}}</ref> Additionally, in the church's [[Plan of salvation in Mormonism|plan of salvation]] noncelibate gay and lesbian individuals will not be allowed in the top tier of [[Degrees of glory#Celestial kingdom|heaven]] to receive [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]] unless they repent, and a heterosexual marriage is a requirement for exaltation.<ref name=Fractured>{{cite news |last1=Beaver |first1=Michelle |title=Mormon church has a fractured history with gays |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/03/11/mormon-church-has-a-fractured-history-with-gays/ |work=The Mercury News |agency=Bay Area News Group |publisher=MediaNews Group, Inc. |date=11 Mar 2011|quote=There are three levels to the heaven in which Mormons believe, and to make it to the highest level, one must be married. Perhaps the most sacred church ordinance is the temple marriage, a "sealing" between a man and a woman that is believed to be eternal, according to Richley Crapo, a Utah State University professor. There is no place for homosexuality in Mormon marriages, and no place for noncelibate homosexuals in the top level of Mormon heaven, unless that person has repented accordingly in the afterlife.|location=San Jose, CA}}</ref><ref name="Not Gay">{{cite news |last1=Petrey |first1=Taylor G. |title=My Husband's Not Gay: Homosexuality and the LDS Church |url=https://religionandpolitics.org/2015/02/04/my-husbands-not-gay-homosexuality-and-the-lds-church/ |author-link=Taylor G. Petrey|work=Religion & Politics |agency=John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics |publisher=Washington University in St. Louis |date=4 February 2015|quote=In the Mormon cosmos, as presently understood, there is simply no room for same-sex relationships. For Mormons, the afterlife consists of heterosexual pairs of divinized men and women. Often church leaders have counseled Mormons who experience same-sex attraction that their unwelcome feelings will disappear in the afterlife. ... [T]he very structure of heaven can only accommodate opposite-sex marriages.}}</ref>

The LDS Church previously taught that homosexuality was a curable condition<ref name=Curable>{{citation|last=Kimball|first=Spencer W.|author-link=Spencer W. Kimball|title=The Miracle of Forgiveness|year=1969|publisher=[[Bookcraft]]|isbn=978-0-88494-192-7|quote=[Homosexuality] is curable and forgivable. ... Certainly it can be overcome .... [T]o those who say that this practice ... is incurable, I respond: 'How can you say the door cannot be opened until your knuckles are bloody ...? It can be done.'|title-link=The Miracle of Forgiveness}} Quoted on page 31 of [https://web.archive.org/web/20170418092803/https://www.uvu.edu/religiousstudies/docs/msc_philips_conservative.pdf#page=36 "Conservative Christian Identity & Same-Sex Orientation: The Case of Gay Mormons."]</ref><ref name="Counselling">{{cite book|last1=Kimball|first1=Spencer W.|title=A Counselling Problem in the Church|date=10 July 1964|publisher=Brigham Young University|location=Provo, Utah|pages=13–14|url=https://search.lib.byu.edu/byu/record/lee.2278543?holding=umtmgu5gt5x6e7b0|quote=We know such a disease [homosexuality] is curable.}}</ref> and counseled members that they could and should change their attractions and provided therapy and programs with that goal.<ref name=Problems>{{cite book|title=Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems|pages=3–4|date=1992|publisher=LDS Church|url=http://www.qrd.org/qrd/religion/judeochristian/protestantism/mormon/mormon-homosexuality|access-date=3 November 2016|quote=[S]uch thoughts and feelings, regardless of their causes, can and should be overcome and sinful behavior should be eliminated. ... Change is possible.}}</ref><ref name="Paradigm">{{cite web|last1=Prince|first1=Gregory A.|title=Science vs. Dogma: Biology Challenges the LDS Paradigm of Homosexuality|url=https://thc.utah.edu/lectures-programs/mcmurrin-lecture/PRINCE-MCMURRIN%20LECTURE-protected.pdf|website=thc.utah.edu|publisher=University of Utah Tanner Humanities Center|date=27 September 2017|access-date=23 February 2022|archive-date=28 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328232753/https://thc.utah.edu/lectures-programs/mcmurrin-lecture/PRINCE-MCMURRIN%20LECTURE-protected.pdf|url-status=dead}} [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gssnz1WZ3dU Video] of the presentation.</ref>{{rp|13–19}}<ref name="Dynamics">{{cite book|last1=Quinn|first1=D. Michael|title=Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example|date=1996|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0252022050|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UXVj398JvnsC}}</ref>{{rp|377–379}} From 1976 until 1989 the [[General Handbook|Church Handbook]] called for church discipline for members attracted to the same sex equating merely being homosexual with the seriousness of acts of adultery and child molestation—even celibate gay people were subject to excommunication.<ref name="Gay Rights">{{cite book |last1=Prince |first1=Gregory A. |author-link=Gregory Prince|title=Gay Rights and the Mormon Church: Intended Actions, Unintended Consequences |date=2019 |publisher=The University of Utah Press |location=Salt Lake City |isbn=9781607816638 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XfnQuQEACAAJ}}</ref>{{rp|16,43}}<ref name="Dynamics" />{{rp|382,422}}<ref name="Decisions">{{cite journal|last1=Schow|first1=Ron|title=Homosexual Attractions and LDS Marriage Decisions|journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|date=Fall 2005|volume=38|issue=3|pages=133–143 |doi=10.2307/45227379 |jstor=45227379 |s2cid=254393745 |url=https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V38N03_145.pdf|access-date=18 June 2017}}</ref>{{rp|139}} Church publications now state that "individuals do not choose to have such attractions", its church-run therapy services no longer provides [[sexual orientation change efforts]], and the church has no official stance on the [[Homosexuality#Causes|causes of homosexuality]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mormonsandgays.org/ |work=Mormons and Gays |title=Love One Another: A Discussion on Same-Sex Attraction |access-date=June 16, 2016 |archive-date=16 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616190527/http://mormonsandgays.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=Position>{{cite web|title=Interview With Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Lance B. Wickman: "Same-Gender Attraction"|url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/interview-oaks-wickman-same-gender-attraction|website=Mormon Newsroom|publisher=LDS Church|date=September 2006|quote=The Church does not have a position on the causes of any of ... same-gender attraction. Those are scientific questions ....}}</ref><ref name="Weeds">{{cite news|last1=Jones|first1=Morgan|title=The Weeds' story is one of many stories of LGBT Latter-day Saints that continue to be written|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900009667/the-weeds-story-is-one-of-many-stories-of-lgbt-latter-day-saints-that-continue-to-be-written.html|work=Deseret News|publisher=LDS Church|date=7 February 2018|quote=Today, [LDS] Family Services says it offers the following: 'We assist individuals and families as they respond to same-sex attraction. Our therapists do not provide what is commonly referred to as 'reparative therapy' or 'sexual orientation change efforts'.'|access-date=23 February 2022|archive-date=12 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512201229/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900009667/the-weeds-story-is-one-of-many-stories-of-lgbt-latter-day-saints-that-continue-to-be-written.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> These current teachings and policies leave homosexual members with the options of entering a [[Mixed-orientation marriage|mixed-orientation opposite-sex marriage]], or living a [[Celibacy|celibate]] lifestyle without any sexual expression (including [[Masturbation and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|masturbation]]).<ref name=Unethical>{{cite journal |last1=Fish |first1=Jessica N. |last2=Russell |first2=Stephen T. |title=Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts are Unethical and Harmful |journal=American Journal of Public Health |date=Aug 2020 |volume=110 |issue=8 |pages=1113–1114 |doi=10.2105/AJPH.2020.305765 |pmid=32639919 |pmc=7349462 |quote=With substantial evidence of serious harms associated with exposure to [sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (SOGICE)] particularly for minors, 21 states (and multiple cities and counties) have passed bipartisan laws or regulations prohibiting SOGICE. ... Furthermore, compared with LGBTQ youths with no exposure, those exposed to SOGICE showed 1.76 times greater odds of seriously considering suicide, 2.23 times greater odds of having attempted suicide, and 2.54 times greater odds of multiple suicide attempts in the previous year.}}</ref><ref name="Conservative Christian Identity">{{cite book|last1=Phillips|first1=Rick|title=Conservative Christian Identity & Same-Sex Orientation: The Case of Gay Mormons|date=2005|publisher=Peter Lang Publishing|location=Frankfurt, Germany|isbn=978-0820474809|url=https://www.uvu.edu/religiousstudies/docs/msc_philips_conservative.pdf|access-date=31 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418092803/https://www.uvu.edu/religiousstudies/docs/msc_philips_conservative.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 18, 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref>{{rp|11}}<ref name="Examination">{{cite journal|last1=Cook|first1=Bryce|title=What Do We Know of God's Will for His LGBT Children? An Examination of the LDS Church's Current Position on Homosexuality|journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|date=Summer 2017|volume=50|issue=2|doi=10.5406/dialjmormthou.50.2.0001|s2cid=190443414|doi-access=free}}</ref>{{rp|20–21}}

====Islam====
[[File:Gay Islam.jpg|thumb|right|Symbolic depiction of the intersection of [[Islam]] and [[homosexuality]] combining the [[Crescent and star (symbol)|crescent and star]] and [[Rainbow flag (LGBTQ)|rainbow flag]]]]
{{Main|LGBT people and Islam}}
[[File:World laws pertaining to homosexual relationships and expression.svg|thumb|280px|Same-sex intercourse illegal: {{legend|#800000|[[Death penalty for homosexuality]]}}{{legend|#cc6633|Death penalty on books but not applied}} According to the [[International Lesbian and Gay Association|ILGA]] seven countries still retain capital punishment for homosexual behavior: [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Yemen]] (for adultery), [[Iran]], [[Brunei]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Mauritania]], and northern [[Nigeria]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileID=1111&ZoneID=7&FileCategory=50 |title=7 countries still put people to death for same-sex acts |publisher=ILGA |access-date=24 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029185853/http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileID=1111&ZoneID=7&FileCategory=50 |archive-date=29 October 2009 }}</ref>]]

Classical Islamic jurists did not deal with homosexuality as a sexual orientation, since the latter concept is modern and has no equivalent in traditional law, which dealt with it under the technical terms of ''liwata'' and ''[[zina|zinā]]''.<ref>Habib, Samar (2010). Islam and Homosexuality. ABC-CLIO. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-313-37903-1. Archived from the original on 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2020-10-02</ref> Most legal schools treat homosexual intercourse with penetration similarly to unlawful heterosexual intercourse under the rubric of ''zinā'', but there are differences of opinion with respect to methods of punishment, as evident from an eleventh-century discussion among the scholars of [[Baghdad]], some scholars argued that homosexual desires are natural, but only allowed in the afterlife.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lange |first=Christian |url= |title=Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-50637-3 |location=Cambridge United Kingdom |page= |author-link=}}</ref>{{rp|p=152}} Some gay individuals undergo sex reassignment surgery to transition into the opposite gender to legally marry.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hamedani |first=Ali |date=5 November 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29832690 |title=The gay people pushed to change their gender |work=[[BBC Persian]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106224035/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29832690 |archive-date=6 November 2014 |access-date=16 July 2021}}</ref>

The discourse on homosexuality in Islam is primarily concerned with activities between men. There are, however, a few hadiths that mention homosexual behavior among women.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hendricks |first1=Mushin |title=Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream Muslim Society |url=https://www.equalrightstrust.org/ertdocumentbank/muhsin.pdf |website=equalrightstrust.org |access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> Although punishment for lesbianism is rarely mentioned in the histories, [[al-Tabari]] records an example of the execution in the year 170&nbsp;[[Islamic calendar|AH]] (786 or 787&nbsp;[[Anno Domini|AD]]) of a pair of lesbian slavegirls in the [[Harem (household)|harem]] of [[al-Hadi]] in a collection of highly critical anecdotes pertaining to that [[Caliph]]'s actions as ruler.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bosworth|first=C.E.|title=The History of al-Tabari Vol. 30: The 'Abbasid Caliphate in Equilibrium: The Caliphates of Musa al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid A.D. 785-809/A.H. 169-193|year=1989|publisher=SUNY Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqf1gwM9O58C&pg=PA73|isbn=9780887065644}}</ref>

Some jurists viewed sexual intercourse as possible only for an individual who possesses a [[phallus]],<ref name="Omar">{{cite web |last=Omar |first=Sara |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t349/e0010 |publisher=Oxford Islamic Studies Online |access-date=3 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908183225/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t349/e0010 |archive-date=8 September 2015 }}</ref> hence those definitions of sexual intercourse that rely on the entry of as little as the [[Corona of glans penis|corona of the phallus]] into a partner's orifice.<ref name="Omar"/> Since women do not possess a phallus and, in this interpretation, cannot have intercourse with one another, they are therefore physically incapable of committing ''zinā''.<ref name="Omar"/>

====Bahá'í Faith====
[[File:Gay Bahai Star.jpg|thumb|Artist's symbolic depiction of the intersection of the [[Baháʼí Faith]] and [[homosexuality]] combining the Bahai [[Baháʼí symbols#Nine-pointed star |nine-pointed star]] and [[Rainbow flag (LGBTQ)|LGBTQ rainbow flag]].]]
{{main|Baháʼí views on homosexuality}}
The [[Baháʼí Faith]] considers same-sex sexual behavior and same-sex marriage to be against [[God in the Baháʼí Faith|God's]] will.<ref name=Bahai>{{Cite book |editor-last=Stockman |editor-first=Robert H. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_World_of_the_Bah%25C3%25A1_%25C3%25AD_Faith/7kpREAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |title=The World of the Bahá'í Faith |date=2021 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London|isbn=978-0-429-64828-1}}</ref>{{rp|p=381}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Garlington |first=William |date=2008 |title=The Baha'i Faith in America |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |edition=Paperback |isbn=978-0-7425-6234-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oHrDEAAAQBAJ|via=[[Google Books]]|page=171}}</ref><ref name=BahaiTeachings>{{cite web|title=The Baha’i Teachings and Homosexuality|url=https://www.bahai.us/bahai-teachings-homosexuality/|publisher=Baha’is of the United States|location=Evanston, Illinois|quote=For [Baha’u’llah's] followers, the precepts and counsels found in these teachings represent ... 'the lamps' of God’s 'wisdom and loving providence,' and so should be observed .... Baha’u’llah affirms that ... marriage is between a man and a woman ... and that sexual relations are only permissible between a couple who are married to each other.}}</ref> Sex is only permitted in a [[Baháʼí marriage |marriage between a man and a woman]] for Baháʼís.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hartz |first=Paula |date=2009 |title=World Religions: Baha'i Faith |edition=3rd |url=https://bahai-library.com/pdf/h/hartz_bahai_faith.pdf |publisher=[[Chelsea House Publishers|Infobase]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-1-60413-104-8|pages=90-92}}</ref><ref name=BahaiTeachings/><ref name=Bahai/>{{rp|p=381}} Lesbian, gay, and bisexual members who engage in any same-sex sexual behavior are subject to sanctions from the Baha’i administration, including being excluded from community gatherings and denied participation in organizational elections.<ref>{{cite news|agency=[[Religion Unplugged]]|date=1 July 2022|last=Carlos|first=Iain|title=Meet A Baha'i Activist Pushing For LGBTQ Tolerance In His Faith|url=https://religionunplugged.com/news/2022/7/1/meet-a-bahai-activist-pushing-for-lgbtq-tolerance-in-his-faith|location=Dallas, Texas, USA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cole |first=Juan R. I. |date=2002 |title=Fundamentalism in the Contemporary U.S. Baha'i Community |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3512329 |journal=[[Review of Religious Research]]|publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |volume=43 |issue=3| doi= 10.2307/3512329|page=211|quote=They are monitored for behavior that might contravene Baha'i law. Baha'is who ... engage in homosexuality ... in such a way that it comes to the attention of their local community have their 'administrative rights' removed and can no longer attend the Nineteen Day Feast—the main worship ceremony—nor can they vote or hold elective office.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Baháʼís have been discouraged from both promoting or opposing efforts to legalize [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Egerton |first1=Charles |title=Being and Becoming: A Photographic Inquiry with Bahá'í Men into Cultures of Peace |date=2020|degree=PhD Peace and Conflict Studies|institution=[[University of Manitoba]] |location=Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |doi=10.13140/RG.2.2.25243.18722 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354792606|via=[[ResearchGate]]|page=52}}</ref>

===Indian religions===
Among the [[Indian religions|religions that originated in ancient and medieval India]], including [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]] and [[Sikhism]], teachings regarding homosexuality are less clear than among the Abrahamic traditions, and religious authorities voice diverse opinions. [[Sikhism]] has no specific teachings about [[sexual orientation|homosexuality]] and the Sikh holy scripture, the [[Guru Granth Sahib]], does not explicitly mention [[heterosexuality]], homosexuality or [[bisexuality]]. The universal goal of a Sikh is to have no hate or animosity to any person, regardless of factors like race, caste, color, creed or gender.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.gaylaxymag.com/articles/queer-voices/homosexuality-and-sikhism |title=Homosexuality and Sikhism |website=[[Gaylaxy]] |date=26 May 2011 |access-date=10 Sep 2022 |last=Collins |first=Zurich}}</ref> Hinduism is diverse, with no supreme governing body, but the majority of [[swami]]s opposed same-sex relationships in a 2004 survey, and a minority supported them.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.faithandthecity.org/issues/social/articles/Discussions_on_Dharma%20.shtml |title=Discussions on Dharma |first=Rajiv |last=Malik |journal=[[Hinduism Today Magazine]] |date=October–December 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726045115/http://www.faithandthecity.org/issues/social/articles/Discussions_on_Dharma%20.shtml |archive-date=26 July 2011 }}</ref> Ancient religious texts such as the [[Vedas]] do not restrict homosexuality and often refer to people of a [[third gender]], who are neither female nor male.<ref name="Cousins 2014 p. 1158">{{cite book | last=Cousins | first=L.H. | title=Encyclopedia of Human Services and Diversity | publisher=SAGE Publications | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4833-4665-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Spd0BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1158 | access-date=2023-04-04 | page=1158}}</ref> Some see this third gender as an ancient parallel to [[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[bisexual]], [[transgender]] and [[intersex]] identities.

==== Hinduism ====
{{Main|Hinduism and LGBT topics|Kama|LGBT themes in Hindu mythology}}
[[Hinduism]] does not have a central authority. Many Hindu sects have taken various positions on homosexuality, ranging from positive to neutral or antagonistic. Referring to the nature of [[Samsara]], the [[Rigveda]], one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism says 'Vikruti Evam Prakriti' (''Perversity/diversity is what nature is all about'', or, ''What seems unnatural is also natural'').<ref>'Expose the Hindu Taliban!' by [[Ashok Row Kavi]]</ref> A "[[third gender]]" has been acknowledged within numerous Hindu texts. Several Hindu texts, such as [[Manu Smriti]]<ref>Manu Smriti, 3.49</ref> and [[Sushruta Samhita]], assert that some people are born with either mixed male and female natures, or sexually neuter, as a matter of natural biology (while at the same time there are examples of speaking negatively in regards to male homosexuality as shown by the Manu Smriti and Arthashastra). In addition, each Hindu denomination had developed distinct rules regarding sexuality, as Hinduism is not unified and is decentralized in essence.

Hindu groups are historically not unified regarding the issue of homosexuality, each one having a distinct doctrinal view.<ref>Lariviere. ''Naradasmriti, (Part One)''. Philadelphia, 1989.</ref><ref name="History1">{{harvnb|Vanita|Kidwai|2001|p=25}}</ref><ref>[[Mahabharata]], book 5, Chapter 191-5.</ref>

The Indian [[Kama Sutra]], written around 150&nbsp;BC,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gradesaver.com/author/vatsyayana/|title=Vatsyayana Biography - List of Works, Study Guides & Essays|author=GradeSaver|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> contains passages describing [[eunuch]]s or "third-sex" males performing [[oral sex]] on men.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kamashastra.com/kama209.htm |title=Chapter IX of the Auparishtaka or Mouth Congress |access-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100313043325/http://www.kamashastra.com/kama209.htm |archive-date=13 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gaybombay.org/reading/art0001.html |title=Homosexuality in Ancient India |author=Devdutt Pattanaik |date=2001 |website=Gay Bombay |access-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022073423/http://www.gaybombay.org/reading/art0001.html |archive-date=22 October 2008}}</ref> The text describes [[Kama]] as one of the three objectives to be achieved in life.<ref>Ruth Vanita, Saleem Kidwai, p. 47 [https://books.google.com/books?id=VbvIDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 Same-Sex Love in India: Readings in Indian Literature]</ref> Though it forbids the educated Brahmins, bureaucrats and wisemen from practicing [[Auparishtaka]] (oral sex).<ref>FM. Krishna Kumari, p. 151 [https://books.google.com/books?id=-IluAAAAMAAJ&q=kamasutra+brahmin+auparishtaka Sermons from Stones: Contribution of Andhras to Art, Culture, and Thought]</ref>

Similarly, some medieval Hindu temples and artifacts openly depict both male homosexuality and lesbianism within their carvings, such as the temple walls at [[Khajuraho]]. Some infer from these images that at least part of the Hindu society and religion were previously more open to variations in human sexuality than they are at present.
[[File:1 Erotic Kama statues of Khajuraho Hindu Temple Kandariya Mahadeva Khajurâho India 2013.jpg|thumb|Khajoraho scene of three women and one man]]

[[Ayoni]] sex, which includes oral and anal sex, never came to be viewed as much of a sin like in Christianity nor a serious crime and could be practiced in some cases. Close friendship between people of same genders has also been seen as permissible in Hindu texts.<ref name="Jeffrey">Jeffrey S. Siker, p. 126, [https://books.google.com/books?id=N6nYCeP_w8YC&q=ayoni&pg=PA126 Homosexuality and Religion: An Encyclopedia]</ref>

Several Hindu priests have performed same-sex marriages, arguing that love is the result of attachments from previous births and that marriage, as a union of spirit, is transcendental to gender.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1357249.stm Gay couple hold Hindu wedding] Tuesday, 29 May 2001, 11:29 GMT, BBC News</ref><ref>[http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=bc24b62d8bece96593d6041cc48a3f54 As Tide Turns on Same-Sex Marriage, Churches Lag Behind] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306041528/http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=bc24b62d8bece96593d6041cc48a3f54 |date=6 March 2012 }} New America Media, News Feature, Sandip Roy</ref>

==== Buddhism ====
[[File:Buddhist rainbow flag.svg|thumb|upright|Artistic representation of the intersection of [[Buddhism]] and [[LGBTQ]] people shown by the [[Buddhist flag]] and [[Rainbow flag (LGBTQ)|rainbow flag]].]]
{{Main|Buddhism and sexual orientation}}

The most common formulation of Buddhist ethics are the [[The Five Precepts|Five Precepts]] and the [[Noble Eightfold Path|Eightfold Path]], one should neither be attached to nor crave sensual pleasure. The third of the Five Precepts is "To refrain from committing sexual misconduct."<ref>{{cite web
  |last=Higgins
  |first=Winton
  |title=Buddhist Sexual Ethics
  |publisher=BuddhaNet Magazine
  |url=http://www.buddhanet.net/winton_s.htm
  |access-date=15 January 2007 }}
</ref> However, "sexual misconduct" is a broad term, and is subjected to interpretation relative to the social norms of the followers. 
The determination of whether or not [[homosexuality|same-gender]] relations are appropriate for a layperson is not considered a religious matter by many Buddhists.<ref>GLBT in World Religions, Sermon by Rev. Gabriele Parks, along with Phil Manos and Bill Weber. [http://www.tpuuf.org/2008/08/03/glbt-in-world-religions/ Tpuuf.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123025839/http://www.tpuuf.org/2008/08/03/glbt-in-world-religions/ |date=23 November 2010 }}</ref>

According to the [[Pāli Canon]] and [[Āgama (Buddhism)|Āgama]] (the Early Buddhist scriptures), there is not any saying that same or opposite gender relations have anything to do with sexual misconduct,<ref name="cunda kammaraputta sutta">{{cite web|title=Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta|trans-title=To Cunda the Silversmith|translator-last1= Bhikkhu|translator-first1=Thanissaro |publisher=Access to Insight|year=1997|id=[[Anguttara Nikaya|AN]] 10.176|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an10/an10.176.than.html| access-date = 14 March 2011|quote=Abandoning sensual misconduct, he abstains from sensual misconduct. He does not get sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who entail punishments, or even those crowned with flowers by another man}}</ref><ref>[http://www.dhammatalks.net/suttacentral/sc/zh/ma128.html 優婆塞經] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218064551/http://www.dhammatalks.net/suttacentral/sc/zh/ma128.html |date=18 February 2017 }}(Upāsaka Sutra from Madhyam āgama):復次，舍梨子！白衣聖弟子離邪婬、斷邪婬，彼或有父所護，或母所護，或父母所護，或兄弟所護，或姉妹所護，或婦父母所護，或親親所護，或同姓所護，或為他婦女，有鞭罰恐怖，及有名雇債至華鬘親，不犯如是女。彼於邪淫淨除其心，白衣聖弟子善護行，此第三法</ref> and some [[Theravada]] monks express that same-gender relations do not violate the rule to avoid sexual misconduct, which means not having sex with someone under age (thus protected by their parents or guardians), someone betrothed or married or who has taken vows of religious celibacy.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Ajahn Punnadhammo|title=Same Sex Marriage|url=http://www.arrowriver.ca/torStar/samesex.html|quote=The lay man is told to abstain from sex with "unsuitable partners" defined as girls under age, women betrothed or married and women who have taken vows of religious celibacy. This is clear, sound advice and seems to suggest that sexual misconduct is that which would disrupt existing family or love relationships. This is consonant with the general Buddhist principle that that which causes suffering for oneself or others is unethical behaviour. ("Unskillful behaviour" would be closer to the original.) There is no good reason to assume that '''''homosexual relations which do not violate this principle''''' should be treated differently. }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Somdet Phra Buddhaghosacariya|title=Uposatha Sila The Eight-Precept Observance|date=1993|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nanavara/uposatha.html|quote=There are four factors of the third precept (kamesu micchacara): 1.agamaniya vatthu — that which should not be visited (the 20 groups of women). 2. asmim sevana-cittam — the intention to have intercourse with anyone included in the above-mentioned groups. 3. sevanap-payogo — the effort at sexual intercourse. 4. maggena maggappatipatti — sexual contact through that adhivasanam effort.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Bhikkhu Bodhi|title=Going for Refuge & Taking the Precepts (The Five Precepts)|date=1981|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|url=http://bodhimonastery.org/going-for-refuge-taking-the-precepts.html#prec2}}</ref>

Some later traditions gradually began to add new restrictions on sexual misconduct, like non-vagina sex, though some academics argue it usually involves situations seen as coerced sex.<ref name="harvey 2000 421">{{cite book| last = harvey | first = peter | title = An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2000 | isbn = 9780511800801 | pages=421–}}</ref><ref name="coerced">{{cite web|last1=Huifeng|title=Re: Gay Marriage: What Would Buddha Do?|url=http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?t=380&start=20#p15496|website=Dharma Wheel|access-date=13 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="Mahā-prajñāpāramitā-śāstra">《Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom》（Sanskrit: Mahā-prajñāpāramitā-śāstra; 中文: 大智度論）卷13：非道之處，則非女根，女心不樂，強以非理，故名邪婬。（The wrong orifice is not through the female organ, the lady does not like this, and so forcing it [upon her] is inappropriate, therefore it is said to be "sexual misconduct）</ref> This non-vagina sex as sexual misconduct view is not based on Buddha's teachings, but from later [[Abhidharma]] texts.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Thubten Chodron|title=Dealing With Life's Issues|url=https://thubtenchodron.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Dealing-With-Lifes-Issues.pdf|quote=The Pali scriptures make no mention of homosexuality being unwise sexual conduct. For monastics, all sexual intercourse is a root downfall. It doesn't specify the gender of one's partner. Vasubandhu, a teacher who came several centuries after the Buddha, discouraged homosexuality. Personally speaking, I think what's most important is the motivation behind how we use our sexuality. In other words, if people use their sexuality unkindly or unwisely, it doesn't matter if it is directed to someone of their own sex or the opposite sex.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=José Ignacio Cabezón|title=Thinking through Texts: Toward a Critical Buddhist Theology of Sexuality|url=http://info-buddhism.com/Buddhism-Sexuality-Cabezon.html|access-date=17 February 2017|quote=Now the obvious historical question then becomes this: If the early doctrine of sexual misconduct is so simple and elegant, when and why did it get so complex and restrictive – that is, when do we find the transition to “organ/orifice mode”? The answer to the “when” question is simple. We don’t find any examples of the more elaborate formulation of sexual misconduct before the third century CE.}}</ref>

Buddhism is often characterized as distrustful of sensual enjoyment and sexuality in general.<ref name="Jackson 1995">{{cite journal |last=Jackson |first=Peter Anthony |date=December 1995 |title=Thai Buddhist accounts of male homosexuality and AIDS in the 1980s |journal=The Australian Journal of Anthropology |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=140–53  |url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-EPT/anth.htm |pmid=12291560}}</ref>  Traditionally, sex and lust are seen as hindering to spiritual progress in most schools of Buddhism; as such [[monk]]s are expected to refrain from all sexual activity, and the [[Vinaya]] (the first book of the [[Tripitaka]]) specifically prohibits [[sexual intercourse]], then further explain that anal, oral, and vaginal intercourse amount to sexual intercourse, which will result in permanent exclusion from Sangha.<ref>See, for example, the Pandakavatthu section of the Mahavagga. 1:61, 68, 69; Vinaya: Mahavagga, 1:71, 76. Additionally, "The Story of the Prohibition of the Ordination of Pandaka" justifies the ban by giving an example of a monk with an insatiable desire to be sexually penetrated by men, thus bringing shame upon the Buddhist community. Vinaya, Vol. 4, pp. 141–142.</ref>  A notable exception in the history of Buddhism occurred in Japan during the [[Edo period]], in which male homosexuality, or more specifically, love between young novices and older monks, were celebrated.<ref>{{cite book |first=Gary P. |last=Leupp |year=1995 |title=Male Colors, the Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan |location=Berkeley |publisher=The University of California Press |isbn=978-0-585-10603-8}}</ref>

References to [[pandaka]], a [[eunuch]]/[[impotence]] category that is sometimes interpreted to include homosexual males, can be found throughout the [[Pali canon]] as well as other [[Sanskrit]] scriptures.<ref name=Semen>{{cite journal|last1=Paisarn Likhitpreechakul|first1=Paisarn|title=Semen, Viagra and Pandaka: Ancient Endocrinology and Modern Day Discrimination|journal=Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies|date=2012|volume=3|url=http://jocbs.org/index.php/jocbs/article/view/28}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Zwilling |first=Leonard |year=1992 |chapter=Homosexuality As Seen In Indian Buddhist Texts |editor=Cabezon, Jose Ignacio |title=Buddhism, Sexuality & Gender |publisher=State University of New York |pages=203–214}}</ref> In the Chinese version of [[Sarvastivada#Vinaya|Sarvastivada Vinaya]], the pandaka is mentioned as also trying to have sex with women, not just men.<ref>十誦律(the Chinese version of sarvāstivāda-vinaya)：是時，跋難陀釋子，與不能男出家(this paragraph mentioned the pandaka)。是人，夜捫摸諸比丘，諸比丘驅出(this paragraph mentioned trying to have sex with bhikkhu, namely men)。到比丘尼邊式叉摩尼沙彌沙彌尼邊，皆捫摸諸比丘尼學戒尼，諸沙彌沙彌尼盡驅出(and this paragraph mentioned trying to have sex with bhikkhunī, namely women)</ref> Leonard Zwilling refers extensively to [[Buddhaghosa]]'s [[Samantapasadika]], where ''pandaka'' are described as being filled with defiled passions and insatiable lusts, and are dominated by their [[libido]]. Some texts of the [[Abhidharma]] state that a ''pandaka'' cannot achieve enlightenment in their own lifetime, (but must wait for rebirth) and Asanga and Vasubandhu discussed if a pandaka was able to be enlightened or not. According to one scriptural story, [[Ananda]]—Buddha's cousin and disciple—was a ''pandaka'' in one of his many previous lives.

Some later classic Buddhist masters and texts disallow contact between monks/[[Bodhisattva]] and ''pandakas''/women and classify non-vagina sex as sexual misconduct, including for lay followers.{{refn|<ref>[[Abhidharmakośa]]</ref><ref>Cutler/Newland ''The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment'' p.220</ref><ref name="harvey 2000 421"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=1999&m=5&p=25_1|title=Canada Tibet Committee - Library - WTN - Archive - Old|author=Canada Tibet Committee|access-date=22 August 2015|archive-date=16 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316075249/http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=1999&m=5&p=25_1|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[[Lotus Sutra]]: Leon Hurvitz, trans., ''Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976), p. 209</ref><ref>[[Milinda Panha]], 100 BC. p. 310.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Reeves |first=Gene |title=The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic |publisher=Wisdom Publications |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-86171-571-8 |pages=296–297}}</ref>}}

The third of the [[five precepts]] of Buddhism states that one is to refrain from [[sexual misconduct]]; this precept has sometimes been interpreted to include homosexuality. The [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] of the [[Gelug]] sect of Tibetan Buddhism previously interpreted sexual misconduct to include lesbian and gay sex, and indeed any sex other than penis-vagina intercourse, including oral sex, anal sex, and masturbation or other sexual activity with the hand; the only time sex is acceptable is when it performed for its purpose of procreation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dalai Lama Speaks on Gay Sex - He says it's wrong for Buddhists but not for society |first=Don |last=Lattin |date=11 June 1997 |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/1997/6/12_2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040529082105/http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/1997/6/12_2.html |archive-date=May 29, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Dalai Lama urges 'respect, compassion, and full human rights for all,' including gays |first=Dennis |last=Conkin |date=19 June 1997 |url=http://quietmountain.org/links/teachings/gayrites.htm |access-date=20 April 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060423234456/http://quietmountain.org/links/teachings/gayrites.htm |archive-date=23 April 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Dalai Lama says 'oral and anal sex' not acceptable |first=Jack |last=Nichols |date=13 May 1997 |url=http://badpuppy.com/gaytoday/garchive/events/051397ev.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990221081940/http://badpuppy.com/gaytoday/garchive/events/051397ev.htm |archive-date=21 February 1999}}</ref> In 2009, when interviewed by Canadian TV news anchor Evan Solomon on ''[[CBC News: Sunday]]'' about whether or not homosexuality is acceptable in Buddhism, the Dalai Lama responded that "it is sexual misconduct."<ref>{{cite web |website=The Huffington Post |title=Gay Marriage: What Would Buddha Do? |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-shaheen/gay-marriage-what-would-b_b_230855.html |last=Shaheen |first=James |date=August 13, 2009 |access-date=August 16, 2021}}</ref> However, the Dalai Lama supports human rights for all, "regardless of sexual orientation."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_budd.htm |title=The Buddhist religion and homosexuality |publisher=[[Religioustolerance.org]] |access-date=27 May 2007 |archive-date=6 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206095154/http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_budd.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the most recent interview on this topic (March 10, 2014), the Dalai Lama said gay marriage is "OK", provided it is not in contradiction with the values of one's chosen religion.<ref>{{Citation|title=The Dalai Lama Weighs In On Same Sex Marriage {{!}} Dalai Lama Interview {{!}} Larry King Now - Ora TV| date=27 February 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJVvVSr8E2M|language=en|access-date=2021-03-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Dalai Lama Voices Support for Gay Marriage|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/dalai-lama-voices-support-gay-marriage-n46906|access-date=2021-03-20|website=NBC News|date=7 March 2014 |language=en}}</ref> Also in an Indian and Tibetan tradition, the [[Nalandabodhi]] [[Sangha (Buddhism)|sangha]] has stated that they are welcoming of all sexual orientations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What Do Buddhist LGBTQ, Vegetarians, and Monks Have in Common?|url=https://dpr.info/articles/what-do-buddhist-lgbtq-vegetarians-and-monks-have-in-common/|access-date=2021-03-27|website=dpr.info|language=en-US}}</ref>

In [[Thailand]], some accounts propose that "homosexuality arises as a [[Karma|karmic]] consequence of violating Buddhist proscriptions against heterosexual misconduct. These karmic accounts describe homosexuality as a congenital condition which cannot be altered, at least in a homosexual person's current lifetime, and have been linked with calls for compassion and understanding from the non-homosexual populace."<ref name="Jackson 1995"/> However, Buddhist leaders in Thailand have also condemned homosexuality,<ref name="Jackson 1995" /> ousted monks accused of homosexual acts, and banned [[kathoey]] from ordination. In 2009, Senior monk Phra Maha Wudhijaya Vajiramedh introduced a "good manners" curriculum for novices in the monkhood, stating to the BBC that he was concerned by "the flamboyant behaviour of gay and transgender monks, who can often be seen wearing revealingly tight robes, carrying pink purses and having effeminately-shaped eyebrows."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8020311.stm|title='Etiquette guide' for Thai monks|date=2009-04-27|access-date=2020-03-24|work=BBC News}}</ref> However, in Thailand, several leaders in the Theravada tradition including Phra Payom Kalayano have expressed support for LGBT rights.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Young monks struggle with gender issues|work=Bangkok Post|date=26 May 2013 |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/351847/gay-and-transgender-katoey-struggle-with-buddhism|access-date=2021-03-20 |last1=Yongcharoenchai |first1=Chaiyot }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Chandran|first=Rina|date=2020-08-21|title='LGBT people are also humans': Thai Buddhist monk backs equality|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-lgbt-religion-interview-trfn-idUSKBN25H0RZ|access-date=2021-03-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lewis|first=Craig|title=Buddhist Monk Seeks Equality, Acceptance for Thailand's LGBT+ Communities|url=https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/buddhist-monk-seeks-equality-acceptance-for-thailandrsquos-lgbt-communities|website=Buddhistdoor Global}}</ref>

A later popular Japanese legend attributed the introduction of monastic homosexuality to Japan to Shingon founder [[Kukai]], although scholars now dismiss the veracity of this assertion, pointing out his strict adherence to the Vinaya.<ref>Leupp, Gary (1995). ''Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan''. p. 31</ref><ref>Faure, Bernard (1998). ''The Red Thread: Buddhist approaches to sexuality'' p. 209</ref><ref name="Schalow, Paul Gordon p. 215">Schalow, Paul Gordon. "Kukai and the Tradition of Male Love in Japanese Buddhism," in Cabezon, Jose Ignacio, Ed., ''Buddhism, Sexuality & Gender,'' State University of New York. p. 215.</ref> Nonetheless, the legend served to "affirm same sex relation between men and boys in seventeenth century Japan."<ref name="Schalow, Paul Gordon p. 215"/><ref>{{cite book |page=68 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwD3FNUJjXwC&pg=PA68 |quote=According to one legend, homosexuality was introduced into Japan in the ninth century by Shingon Buddhist monk, Kukai |title=Sociolegal Control of Homosexuality: Multi-nation Comparison |first=Donald James |last=West |author2=Green, Richard  |year=1997 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-306-45532-2}}</ref> However, Japanese Buddhist scholar and author of "''Wild Azaleas"'' Kitamura Kigin argued that there was a tendency in monasteries to avoid heterosexuality and to encourage homosexuality.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kumagusu |first=Miinakata |author2=Ihara Saikaku |editor=Stephen D. Miller |others=trans. Paul Gordon Schalow |title=Partings at Dawn: An Anthology of Japanese Gay Literature |edition=2nd |date=1996 |publisher=Gay Sunshine Press |location=San Francisco |isbn=978-0-940567-18-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/partingsatdawn00step/page/103 103] |quote=The Buddha preached that Mount Imose (a metaphor for the love of women) was a place to be avoided, and thus priests of the dharma first entered this way as an outlet for their feelings, since their hearts were, after all, made of neither stone nor wood. |url=https://archive.org/details/partingsatdawn00step/page/103 }}</ref>

Although Mahayana Buddhism has some texts against homosexuality (from later Abhidharma texts and [[Buddhist apocrypha]]), the majority of its teachings assert that all beings who correctly practice the dharma may reach enlightenment, since all possess an innate Buddha nature. Enlightenment being achievable even in a single life.<ref>Padma, Sree. Barber, Anthony W. ''Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra.'' 2008. pp. 152</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Reeves|2008|p=5}}</ref> Some Mahayana Buddhist leaders were active in the movement for same-sex marriage rights in Taiwan which legalized same-sex marriages in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hollingsworth |first=Julia |date=2019-05-17|title=Taiwan legalizes same-sex marriage in historic first for Asia|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/17/asia/taiwan-same-sex-marriage-intl/index.html|access-date=2021-03-27|website=CNN|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Buddhist Nun Leads Asia's Fight for Gay Marriage|url=https://bulletin.hds.harvard.edu/buddhist-nun-leads-asias-fight-for-gay-marriage/|access-date=2021-03-27|website=Harvard Divinity Bulletin|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Taiwan to stage first same-sex Buddhist wedding|url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/taiwan-stage-first-same-sex-buddhist-wedding-061917131.html|access-date=2021-03-27|website=sg.news.yahoo.com|date=11 July 2012 |language=en-SG}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lewis|first=Craig|date=February 26, 2021|title=Taiwanese Buddhist Master Ven. Shih Chao-hwei Selected for 38th Niwano Peace Prize|url=https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/taiwanese-buddhist-master-ven-shih-chao-hwei-selected-for-38th-niwano-peace-prize|website=Buddhistdoor Global}}</ref>

Well known Zen Buddhist, [[Thích Nhất Hạnh|Thich Nhat Hanh]], notes the spirit of Buddhism is inclusiveness and states "when you look at the ocean, you see different kinds of waves, many sizes and shapes, but all the waves have water as their foundation and substance. If you are born gay or lesbian, your ground of being is the same as mine. We are different, but we share the same ground of being."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nhat|first=Hanh Thich|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/730045848|title=Answers from the Heart: Practical Responses to Life's Burning Questions.|date=2009|publisher=Parallax Press|isbn=978-1-935209-00-3|oclc=730045848}}</ref>

The capacity of Buddhism to reform itself and its great variety of distinct beliefs and schools, provide many liberal streams of Buddhism, which are accepting of all sexual orientations. Reformists of Buddhism are mainly predominant in cosmopolitan cities. In global traditions, there is a widescale support for LGBT rights including the European Buddhist Union,<ref>{{Cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=2015-07-03|title=Rainbow Sangha|url=http://europeanbuddhism.org/activity/rainbow/|access-date=2021-03-27|website=European Buddhist Union|language=en|archive-date=20 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120232630/http://europeanbuddhism.org/activity/rainbow/|url-status=dead}}</ref> the Buddhist Churches of America,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Seattle Betsuin Brings New Light to LGBTQ Issues : Northwest Dharma Association|url=https://northwestdharma.org/rainbowsea/|access-date=2021-03-27|website=northwestdharma.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Wilson|first=Jeff|title="All Beings Are Equally Embraced By Amida Buddha": Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and Same-Sex Marriage in the United States|url=http://www.globalbuddhism.org/jgb/index.php/jgb/article/viewFile/125/140|website=Journal of Global Buddhism Vol. 13 (2012): 31-59|access-date=11 April 2021|archive-date=13 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413123019/http://www.globalbuddhism.org/jgb/index.php/jgb/article/viewFile/125/140|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World|title=Buddha's Big Shrug: The Non-Conflictual History of Same-Sex Marriage in the Buddhist Churches of America|url=https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/buddha-s-big-shrug-the-non-conflictual-history-of-same-sex-marriage-in-the-buddhist-churches-of-america|access-date=2021-03-27|website=berkleycenter.georgetown.edu}}</ref> many Shin Buddhist groups,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Seminar traces roots of Buddhists' support for LGBTQ rights |url=https://www.nichibei.org/2014/07/seminar-traces-roots-of-buddhists-support-for-lgbtq-rights/ |last=Hamamoto |first=Ben |date=July 10, 2014 |newspaper=Nichi bei News |access-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106031226/https://www.nichibei.org/2014/07/seminar-traces-roots-of-buddhists-support-for-lgbtq-rights/ |archive-date=January 6, 2016}}</ref> and Zen leaders such as Thich Nhat Hanh.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nhất Hạnh|first=Thích|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/701109195|title=Answers from the heart : practical responses to life's burning questions|date=2009|publisher=Parallax Press|isbn=978-1-935209-00-3|location=Berkeley, Calif.|oclc=701109195}}</ref> The Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils (FABC), representing Buddhist laypeople, and the Australian Sangha Association vocally supported [[same-sex marriage]] in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Potts |first1=Andrew M |date=2012-04-19 |title=Buddhists come out for equality |url=https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/buddhists-come-out-for-equality/75906 |access-date=2021-03-27 |website=Star Observer |language=en-US}}</ref> Soka Gakkai International-USA (SGI-USA) is the most diverse Buddhist community in the United States with more than 500 chapters and some 100 centers throughout the country supports LGBT rights.<ref>{{Cite web|last=USA|first=Soka Gakkai International-|title=Courageous Freedom: SGI-USA's LGBTQ Community –|url=http://www.sgi-usa.org/2016/05/19/courageous-freedom-sgi-usas-lgbtq-community/|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Soka Gakkai International - USA|language=en|archive-date=20 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120232629/http://www.sgi-usa.org/2016/05/19/courageous-freedom-sgi-usas-lgbtq-community/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a PEW research poll, 88% of American Buddhists stated that homosexuality should be accepted.<ref name="pewforum.org">{{Cite web|title=Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics|url=https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|language=en-US}}</ref> This was a higher level of support than any other religious group studied.<ref name="pewforum.org"/>

==== Sikhism ====
{{Main|Sikhism and sexual orientation}}

[[Sikhism]] has no specific teachings about [[sexual orientation|homosexuality]] and the Sikh holy scripture, the [[Guru Granth Sahib]], does not explicitly mention [[heterosexuality]], [[homosexuality]] or [[bisexuality]]. The universal goal of a Sikh is to have no hate or animosity to any person, regardless of factors like race, caste, color, creed or gender.<ref name="auto"/>

[[Akal Takht|Akal Takhat]], the highest religious authority of the Sikhs, issued an edict ([[Hukamnama|hukamnaama]]) in 2005 against any homosexual marriage in front of Sikh Scriptures (11th Guru of the Sikhs—[[Guru Granth Sahib|Shri Guru Granth Sahib]]). This was again reiterated when one couple performed an [[Anand Karaj]] (Sikh religious marriage) of two homosexual men in 2020 in [[California]]. The couple was thrown out of the Sikh religion for this violation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/same-sex-marriage-in-presence-of-guru-granth-sahib-invites-akal-takhts-ire-158096|title=Same-sex marriage in presence of Guru Granth Sahib invites Akal Takht's ire : The Tribune India}}</ref>

Gurbani based view:

{{blockquote|...... much of Sikh teaching is couched in metaphors from family life. Even the adoration of God is explored in terms of the closest relationship that humans can comprehend—that between a man and a woman. The heterosexual relationship is defined as sacred in Sikhism; an honest family life is described as the first duty—the primary religion of humans.|source=Dr I J Singh "Same Sex Unions"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sikhmissionarysociety.org/sms/smsarticles/advisorypanel/gurmukhsinghsewauk/sikhviewabouthomosexualityandsamesexmarriages/ | title=Sikh View About Homosexuality and Same Sex Marriages }}</ref>}}

'''In Sikh Scripture'''

In [[Guru Granth Sahib]], marriage is seen as a union of souls. In Sikhism, the soul is seen as genderless, and the outward appearance of human beings (man, woman) is a temporary state. [[Same-sex marriage]] advocates refer to this fact.<ref name="Naad 33">{{cite web|url=http://www.projectnaad.com/wp-content/uploads/leaflets/sikhism_yoga_and_sexuality.pdf|title=Sikhism, Yoga and Sexuality|date=2 September 2010|publisher=Project Naad|page=33|access-date=2 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011162907/http://www.projectnaad.com/wp-content/uploads/leaflets/sikhism_yoga_and_sexuality.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Zoroastrianism===
{{main|Zoroastrianism and sexual orientation}}
{{Rquote|left| The man that lies with mankind as man lies with womankind, or as woman lies with mankind, is a man that is a Daeva [demon]; this man is a worshipper of the Daevas, a male paramour of the Daevas|[[Vendidad]]}}

The [[Vendidad]], one of the later [[Zoroastrian]] texts composed in the Artificial Young [[Avestan language]], has not been dated precisely. It is thought that some concepts of law, uncleanliness, [[Dualistic cosmology|dualism]], and [[salvation]] were shared between the religions, and subsequent interactions between the religions are documented by events such as the release of the Jews from the [[Babylonian captivity]] by Zoroastrian [[Cyrus the Great]] in 537&nbsp;BC, and the Biblical account of the [[Magi]] visiting the infant [[Jesus]].

The Vendidad generally promotes procreation: "the man who has a wife is far above him who lives in continence; he who keeps a house is far above him who has none; he who has children is far above the childless man; he who has riches is far above him who has none." It details the penance for a worshipper who submits to [[sodomy]] under force as "Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana." (equal to the penalty for breaking a contract with the value of an ox),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.avesta.org/vendidad/vd4sbe.htm |title=AVESTA: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 4. Contracts and offenses. |translator-first=James |translator-last=Darmesteter |date=1995 |website=Avesta |access-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201184412/http://www.avesta.org/vendidad/vd4sbe.htm |archive-date=February 1, 2023}}</ref> and declares that for those participating voluntarily "For that deed there is nothing that can pay, nothing that can atone, nothing that can cleanse from it; it is a trespass for which there is no atonement, for ever and ever". However, those not practicing the [[Ahura Mazda|Religion of Mazda]] were pardoned for past actions upon conversion.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.avesta.org/vendidad/vd8sbe.htm |title=AVESTA: VENDIDAD (English): Chapter 8: Funerals and purification, unlawful sex |translator-last=Darmesteter |translator-first=James |date=1995 |website=Avesta |access-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201184410/http://www.avesta.org/vendidad/vd8sbe.htm |archive-date=February 1, 2023}}</ref> It has been argued that, in ancient times, those prohibitions against sodomy did not apply to [[eunuch]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Donaldson |first1=Stephen |last2=Dynes |first2=Wayne |title=Homosexuality in the Ancient World |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1992 |isbn=9780815305460 |page=153}}</ref>

===East Asian religions===
Among the [[Taoic religions]] of [[East Asia]], such as [[Taoism]], passionate homosexual expression is usually discouraged because it is believed to not lead to human fulfillment.<ref name="Wawrytko, Sandra 1993">Wawrytko, Sandra (1993). ''Homosexuality and Chinese and Japanese Religions'' in "Homosexuality and World Religions", edited by Arlene Swidler. Trinity Press International, 1993.</ref>

==== Burmese folk religion ====
{{Main|Burmese folk religion}}
Many ''Nat Kadaws'' in traditional Burmese folk religion are members of the LGBT community.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Grace |date=2018-09-01 |title=Myanmar's LGBT community find freedom at spirit festival |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/31/asia/myanmar-spirit-festival-intl/index.html |access-date=2021-11-25 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Coleman |first1=Eli |last2=Allen |first2=Mariette Pathy |last3=Ford |first3=Jessie V. |date=May 2018 |title=Gender Variance and Sexual Orientation Among Male Spirit Mediums in Myanmar |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=987–998 |doi=10.1007/s10508-018-1172-0 |pmid=29497915 |s2cid=4730569}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Purday |first1=Kevin Michael |title=Shamanic gender liminality with specific reference to the NatKadaw of Myanmar and the Bissu of Sulawesi. |date=2013 |url=https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/433/ |s2cid=131727907}}</ref>

==== Chinese folk religion ====
{{Main|Chinese folk religion}}
[[Tu'er Shen]], also known as the Rabbit God, is a gay [[Shen (Chinese religion)|Chinese deity]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Volodzko |first=David |date=2020-10-09 |title=How Fujian was once an LGBT mecca (where people worshipped a rabbit god) |url=https://supchina.com/2020/10/09/how-fujian-was-once-an-lgbt-mecca/ |access-date=2021-12-16 |website=SupChina |language=en-US |archive-date=1 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901220450/https://supchina.com/2020/10/09/how-fujian-was-once-an-lgbt-mecca/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-01-19 |title=Taiwan's gays pray for soul mates at 'Rabbit' temple |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/taiwan-gay-temple-idINKBN0KS0R120150119 |access-date=2021-12-16}}</ref> In 2006, Lu Wei-ming founded a temple for Tu'er Shen and Taoist worship in [[Yonghe District]] in the [[New Taipei City]] in [[Taiwan]].<ref>{{cite web |last=GOLD |first=MICHAEL |date=2015-01-26 |title=Praying for a soul mate at Rabbit Temple |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/people/2015/01/26/praying-for-a-soul-mate-at-rabbit-temple |access-date=2019-12-04 |website=The Star Online |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-01-19 |title=Why Taiwan's 'Rabbit' Temple Is Almost Exclusively Gay |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/taiwan-gay-temple-_n_6499210 |access-date=2021-12-16 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=受同志社群歡迎的台北道教廟堂 | date=17 January 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abSidDFK_ec |access-date=2021-12-16 |language=en}}</ref> About 9,000 pilgrims visit the temple each year praying for a suitable (same-sex) partner.<ref>{{cite web |date=2015-01-19 |title=Why Taiwan's 'Rabbit' Temple Is Almost Exclusively Gay |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/taiwan-gay-temple-_n_6499210 |access-date=2019-12-04 |website=[[HuffPost]] |language=en}}</ref> The Wei-ming temple also performs love ceremonies for gay couples.<ref>{{cite web |last=Alexander Stevenson |title=Thousands of Gay Pilgrims Trek To Taiwan To Pray For Love At 'Rabbit' Temple |url=http://www.newnownext.com/taiwanese-rabbit-temple-drawing-gay-pilgrims/01/2015/ |date=22 January 2015 |publisher=[[Logo TV]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rabbittemple |url=https://twitter.com/rabbittemple |access-date=2021-12-16 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref> It is the world's only religious shrine for homosexuals.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-01-19 |title=Taiwan's gays pray for soul mates at 'Rabbit' temple |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/taiwan-gay-temple-idINKBN0KS0R120150119 |access-date=2019-12-04}}</ref>

====Confucianism====
[[Confucianism]], being primarily a social and political philosophy, focused little on sexuality; whether homosexual or heterosexual. However, the ideology did emphasize male friendships, and [[Louis Crompton]] has argued that the "closeness of the master-disciple bond it fostered may have subtly facilitated homosexuality".<ref name="Crompton">Crompton, Louis. ''Homosexuality and Civilization''. Harvard University Press. p. 221</ref> [[Homosexuality]] is not mentioned in the [[Analects of Confucius]].<ref name="Siker encyclopedia">Jeffrey S. Siker, [https://books.google.com/books?id=PUqn33H-uDYC&q=Confucianism+homosexuality&pg=PA210 Homosexuality and Religion: an encyclopedia]. page 210. 2007. {{ISBN|0-313-33088-3}}</ref>

==== Đạo Mẫu ====
{{Main|Đạo Mẫu}}
In Vietnam, many LGBT people find a safe community within the ''Đạo Mẫu'' religion, which is worship of the mother god''.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=VietnamPlus |date=2013-12-11 |title=First art festival focuses on LGBT community {{!}} Culture - Sports {{!}} Vietnam+ (VietnamPlus) |url=https://en.vietnamplus.vn/first-art-festival-focuses-on-lgbt-community/53562.vnp |access-date=2021-12-09 |website=VietnamPlus |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Some Asian Governments Claim LGBTQ Culture Is a Western Invention: Here's Why That's Garbage |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/some-asian-governments-claim-lgbtq-culture-is-a-western-invention-heres-why-thats-garbage/ |last=Ngu |first=Sarah |date=June 6, 2019 |website=Vice |access-date=January 26, 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101024349/https://www.vice.com/en/article/kzmpyy/some-asian-governments-claim-lgbtq-culture-is-a-western-invention-heres-why-thats-garbage |archive-date=November 1, 2020}}</ref> Many LGBT people act as mediums during ''Đạo Mẫu'' rituals''.''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Binh |first1=Tran Thi Thuy |last2=Filax |first2=Gloria |date=2019 |title=Social effects of Đạo Mẫu gay mediums |journal=Regional Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=2–24}}</ref>

==== Shinto ====
{{Main|LGBT topics and Shinto}}

Historically, [[Shinto]] "had no special code of morals and seems to have regarded sex as a natural phenomenon to be enjoyed with few inhibitions."<ref name="Crompton 2003">{{cite book |last=Crompton |first=Louis |title=Homosexuality and Civilization |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=9780674022331 |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] |page=413 |chapter=Pre-Meiji Japan |lccn=2003245327 |quote=Shinto was principally concerned with propitiatory rites and ceremonies; [[Japanese mythology|its mythology]] fostered nationalism through the [[Imperial cult#Ancient and Imperial Japan|cult of divine emperors]], but it had no special code of morals and seems to have regarded sex as a natural phenomenon to be enjoyed with few inhibitions. [[Phallus|Phallic]] [[Shinto shrine|shrines]] dotted the countryside. Premarital virginity was not rigidly insisted upon, and freeborn boys did not lose status if they had adult lovers. Early law codes penalized incest and bestiality but not [[homosexual relations]]. The [[Shinto gods|gods of the Shinto pantheon]] were themselves highly sexual. In later times, some of them were seen as "guardian deities" of [[Love between men|male love]]. |author-link=Louis Crompton |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TfBYd9xVaXcC&pg=PA413}}</ref> While [[Shinto#Beliefs|Shinto beliefs]] are diverse, Japanese Shinto does not condemn homosexuality,<ref name="Crompton 2003" /> and the formally organized [[Konkokyo]] sect is fully affirming.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 2017 |title=Face to Faith No.89 |url=http://kic.jpn.org/jpn/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/No89.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bernkastel |first=Olivia |date=2018-12-15 |title=Throughout the years and even now, I have often been asked the view Shinto holds in regard to… |url=https://medium.com/@livingwithkami/throughout-the-years-and-even-now-i-have-often-been-asked-the-view-shinto-holds-in-regard-to-6d9eb0057997 |access-date=2021-08-25 |website=Medium |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Living with Kami |url=https://www.livingwithkami.com/post/171313633965/great-news-from-konkokyo-message-below-from-the |access-date=2021-08-25 |website=Living with Kami |language=en}}</ref> Multiple Shinto leaders advocated in support of [[Same-sex marriage in Hawaii|gay marriage in Hawaii]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 October 2013 |title=Testimony in support of SB1 Relating to Equal Rights |url=https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/splsession2013b/SB1_Testimony_JUD-FIN_10-31-13_InPerson_Part1.pdf |website=Capitol.Hawaii.Gov}}</ref>

====Taoism====
{{Main|Homosexuality and Taoism}}
There is no single official position on homosexuality in Taoism, as the term Taoism is used to describe a number of disparate religious traditions encompassing a variety of views. Although Taoist alchemy generally emphasized that ejaculation in heterosexual relationships represented a draining of the male's "life essence," this concept was not generally extended to non-heterosexual sex.

In a similar way to Buddhism, Taoist schools sought throughout history to [[Five Precepts (Taoism)|define]] what would be sexual misconduct. Broadly speaking, the precept against "sexual misconduct" in Taoism relates to extramarital sex. The term for a married couple (夫婦) usually in Chinese suggests a male with a female, though Taoist scripture itself does not explicitly say anything against same-sex relations.<ref>{{cite book |trans-chapter=Supreme [[Laozi]]'s Precepts |script-chapter=zh:太上老君戒經 |title=Zhengtong daozang |trans-title=Zhengtong-era Daoist Canon |year=c. 1445 |script-title=zh:正統道藏|ref={{harvid|Zhengtong daozang|1445}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |trans-title=The Great Dictionary of Taoism |script-title=zh:道教大辭典 |author=Chinese Taoism Association |year=1994 |publisher=华夏出版社 |isbn=7-5080-0112-5}}/B.054</ref> Many sorts of precepts mentioned in the [[Yunji Qiqian]] ({{lang|zh|雲笈七籤}}), The Mini Daoist Canon, does not explicitly say anything against same-gender relations as well.<ref>{{cite book |trans-chapter=[[Yunji Qiqian]]. Precepts |volume=38-40 |script-chapter=zh:雲笈七籤.說戒部 |trans-title=Zhengtong-era Daoist Canon |script-title=zh:正統道藏}}</ref>

Homosexuality is not unknown in Taoist history, such as during the Tang dynasty when Taoist nuns exchanged love poems.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060513051220/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/china%2C5.html Homosexuality in China] on [[glbtq.com]].</ref> As a sexual misconduct however would depend on what sect or school they were from as some traditions considered homosexuality to be misconduct and others did not mention it at all. There are also certain [[Fulu|talismans]] recorded in different traditions that claim to "cure" a person of the "homosexual disease/desire". Attitudes about homosexuality within Taoism often reflect the values and sexual norms of broader Chinese society and what region of China the sect resided in (see [[Homosexuality in China]]).

=== African Diasporic religions ===

====Candomblé====
Within [[Candomblé]], a [[Syncretism|syncretic]] religion found primarily in Brazil, there is widespread (though not universal) support for gay rights, many members are LGBT, and have performed gay marriages.<ref name="candomble">{{cite web |last=Rodney |first=Pai |date=September 22, 2017 |title=Homossexualidade e candomblé |url=https://www.cartacapital.com.br/blogs/dialogos-da-fe/homossexualidade-e-candomble/ |access-date=January 21, 2024 |website=CartaCapital |language=pt-BR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922152923/https://www.cartacapital.com.br/blogs/dialogos-da-fe/homossexualidade-e-candomble/ |archive-date=September 22, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Moutinho |first=Laura |date=2013 |title=Homosexuality, skin color and religiosity: flirting among the "povo de santo" in Rio de Janeiro |url=http://www.clam.org.br/uploads/publicacoes/book2/32.pdf |journal=CLAM. Sexuality, Culture and Politics – A South American Reader |pages=573–592 |isbn=978-85-89737-82-1}}</ref><ref name="GI São Paulo">{{cite web |date=27 February 2017 |title=Casal gay celebra casamento umbandista em bloco no centro de São Paulo |url=https://g1.globo.com/sao-paulo/carnaval/2017/noticia/casal-celebra-casamento-em-bloco-de-carnaval-no-centro-de-sao-paulo.ghtml |work=GI São Paulo |language=pt}}</ref> In Candomblé, homosexuality is usually accepted and explained by the sex of one's orisha.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Santos |first1=Milton Silva dos |date=3 June 2008 |title=Sexo, gênero e homossexualidade: o que diz o povo-de-santo paulista? |url=http://periodicos.pucminas.br/index.php/horizonte/article/view/444 |journal=Horizonte - Revista de Estudos de Teologia e Ciências da Religião |publisher=PUC Minas |pages=145–156 |access-date=18 November 2017}}</ref> Homosexuality would be more probable in a man with a female orisha, a woman with a male orisha, or any of them with an androgynous orisha (such as [[Olokun]]).

==== Haitian Vodou ====
{{Main|Haitian Vodou and sexual orientation}}
Homosexuality is religiously acceptable in [[Haitian Vodou]].<ref name="Haiti's fight for gay rights">{{cite web |title=Haiti's fight for gay rights |url=http://projects.aljazeera.com/2014/haiti-lgbt/ |access-date=2021-03-27 |website=Al Jazeera America}}</ref><ref name="Homosexuality And Voodoo">{{cite web |date=July 20, 2013 |title=Homosexuality And Voodoo |url=http://www.haitiobserver.com/blog/homosexuality-and-voodoo.html |access-date=March 30, 2021 |website=Haiti Observer}}</ref><ref name="advocate.com">{{cite web |title=Queer Haitians Find a Refuge in Vodou |url=http://www.advocate.com/current-issue/2016/10/31/why-queer-haitians-are-turning-vodou |last=Ahmed |first=Beenish |date=October 31, 2016 |website=Advocate |access-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101121517/http://www.advocate.com/current-issue/2016/10/31/why-queer-haitians-are-turning-vodou |archive-date=November 1, 2016}}</ref> The lwa or loa (spirits) Erzulie Dantor and Erzulie Freda are often associated with and viewed as protectors of queer people.<ref name="Review">{{cite web |last=Review |first=The Global Catholic |date=2018-06-06 |title=Black Madonna Vodou Religion Spirit Lwa Erzulie Dantor by Kate Kingsbury |url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/theglobalcatholicreview/2018/06/polish-black-madonna-haitian-vodou-spirit-erzulie-dantor-kate-kingsbury-africa-love-religion/ |access-date=2021-03-27 |website=The Global Catholic Review |language=en}}</ref><ref name="lisantiadmin">{{cite web |last=lisantiadmin |title=Haiti's LGBTQ-Accepting Vodou Societies |url=https://www.irenemonroe.com/haitis-lgbtq-accepting-vodou-societies/ |access-date=2021-03-27 |website=Rev Irene Monroe |language=en-US}}</ref> The lao [[Ghede Nibo]] is sometimes depicted as an effeminate drag queen and inspires those he inhabits to lascivious sexuality of all kinds.<ref name="Cassell">Randy Conner, David Hatfield Sparks & Mariya Sparks (eds), Cassell's ''Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol & Spirit'', p. 963, London and New York: Cassell, 1997.</ref><ref>Conner, p. 157, "Ghede Nibo"</ref>

==== Santería ====
Practitioners of [[Santería]], primarily found in Cuba,  generally (though not universally) welcome LGBT members and include them in religious or ritual activities.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Introduction ~ ¡Homofobia no! ¡Socialismo sí! Identity, culture, gender and sexuality in today's Cuba ~ Minority Stories |url=https://stories.minorityrights.org/afrocuba-lgbtqi/chapter/introduction/ |access-date=2021-05-01 |website=stories.minorityrights.org|date=5 March 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vidal-Ortiz |first1=Salvador |date=September 2006 |title=Sexuality discussions in santería: A case study of religion and sexuality negotiation |journal=Sexuality Research and Social Policy |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=52–66 |doi=10.1525/srsp.2006.3.3.52 |s2cid=144582747}}</ref>

==== Umbanda ====
Also a Brazilian syncretic religion, [[Umbanda]] houses generally support LGBT rights and have performed gay marriages.<ref>{{cite web |title=Brazil gays celebrate first mass wedding |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2011-06-23/brazil-gays-celebrate-first-mass-wedding |access-date=2021-05-01 |website=The World from PRX |date=August 2016 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="GI São Paulo" /><ref name="candomble" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ogland |first1=Curtis P. |last2=Verona |first2=Ana Paula |date=2 September 2014 |title=Religion and the Rainbow Struggle: Does Religion Factor Into Attitudes Toward Homosexuality and Same-Sex Civil Unions in Brazil? |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |volume=61 |issue=9 |pages=1334–1349 |doi=10.1080/00918369.2014.926767 |pmid=24914634 |s2cid=32139660}}</ref>

=== New religious movements ===

==== Antoinism ====
[[Antoinism]], a [[new religious movement]] founded in Belgium in 1910, does not provide any prescription on issues such as sexuality,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fonsny |first=Marie-Pierre |date=26 October 1993 |title=Antoinisme: Un produit wallon basé sur une foi exclusive |journal=[[Le Soir]] |language=fr |publisher=Rossel |page=21 |place=Brussels}}</ref> as it considers that this is not related to spirituality; homosexuality is not deemed a sin and there is nothing wrong to be gay and antoinist.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Julie Luong |date=8 September 2021 |title=Antoinisme : un culte simple et belge |url=https://www.alterechos.be/__trashed-5/ |journal=Alter Echos |language=fr |access-date=18 September 2021 |number=496}}.</ref>

==== Eckankar ====
[[Eckankar]], an American [[new religious movement]] founded by [[Paul Twitchell]] in 1965, says on its website that "where legally recognized, [[same-sex marriage]]s are performed, in the form of the ECK Wedding Ceremony, by ordained ministers of Eckankar".<ref>{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions - Does Eckankar recognize same-sex relationships? |url=https://www.eckankar.org/FAQ/index.html#samesex |access-date=24 October 2021 |publisher=[[Eckankar]] |archive-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013142834/https://www.eckankar.org/FAQ/index.html#samesex |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Neo-Druidism ====
The [[Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids]] is a worldwide group dedicated to practicing, teaching, and developing modern [[Druidry (modern)|Druidry]] and has more than 25,000 members in 50 countries. The Order is LGBT-affirming within a larger framework of support for civil rights, love of justice, and the love of all existences.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 May 2019 |title=About The Order {{!}} Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids |url=https://druidry.org/about-us |access-date=2021-10-23 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Raëlism ====
[[File:Korea_Queer_Culture_Festival_2014_58.JPG|right|thumb|230x230px|Raëlian participants attending the [[Korea Queer Culture Festival]] (2014)]]
[[Raëlism]], an international [[new religious movement]] and [[UFO religion]] which was founded in France in 1974,<ref name="Palmer 2012">{{cite book |author1-last=Palmer |author1-first=Susan J. |title=The Cambridge Companion to New Religious Movements |author2-last=Sentes |author2-first=Bryan |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-521-19650-5 |editor1-last=Hammer |editor1-first=Olav |editor1-link=Olav Hammer |location=[[Cambridge]] |pages=167–183 |chapter=The International Raëlian Movement |doi=10.1017/CCOL9780521196505.012 |lccn=2012015440 |author1-link=Susan J. Palmer |editor2-last=Rothstein |editor2-first=Mikael |editor2-link=Mikael Rothstein |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RM0AAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA167 |s2cid=151563721}}</ref><ref name="Dericquebourg 2021">{{cite book |author-last=Dericquebourg |author-first=Régis |title=Handbook of UFO Religions |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-90-04-43437-0 |editor-last=Zeller |editor-first=Ben |series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |volume=20 |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |pages=472–490 |chapter=Rael and the Raelians |doi=10.1163/9789004435537_024 |issn=1874-6691 |author-link=Régis Dericquebourg |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tkswEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA472 |s2cid=239738621}}</ref> promotes a [[Sex-positive movement|positive outlook towards human sexuality]], including homosexuality.<ref name="Palmer 2012" /><ref name="Dericquebourg 2021" /><ref name="Gregg 2014">{{cite journal |last=Gregg |first=Stephen E. |date=September 2014 |title=Queer Jesus, straight angels: Complicating 'sexuality' and 'religion' in the International Raëlian Movement |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460714526129 |journal=[[Sexualities (journal)|Sexualities]] |publisher=[[SAGE Journals]] |volume=17 |issue=5–6 |pages=565–582 |doi=10.1177/1363460714526129 |issn=1461-7382 |oclc=474576878 |s2cid=147291471 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2436/609871}}</ref><ref name="Palmer 2014">{{cite book |last=Palmer |first=Susan J. |title=Sexuality and New Religious Movements |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-349-68146-4 |editor1-last=Bogdan |editor1-first=Henrik |series=Palgrave Studies in New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities |location=[[New York City|New York]] |pages=183–211 |chapter=Raël's Angels: The First Five Years of a Secret Order |doi=10.1057/9781137386434_9 |author-link=Susan J. Palmer |editor2-last=Lewis |editor2-first=James R. |editor2-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ZQMCgAAQBAJ}}</ref> Its founder [[Raël]] recognised same-sex marriage, and a Raëlian press release stated that sexual orientation is genetic and it also likened [[Homophobia|discrimination against gay people]] to [[racism]].<ref>{{cite web |date=March 25, 2005 |title=A modern nation is a nation where gays and lesbians are free |url=http://www.raelpress.org/news.php?item.16.1 |access-date=March 30, 2021 |website=Raelian Press Site}}</ref> Some Raëlian leaders have performed licensed same-sex marriages.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 18, 2013 |title=A Raelian official licensed to perform legal marriages for same-sex couples in Hawaii |url=http://raelianews.org/news.php?item.524.10 |access-date=March 30, 2021 |website=Raelianews}}</ref>

==== Santa Muerte ====
The cult of [[Santa Muerte]] is a [[new religious movement]]<ref name="Chesnut 2017">{{cite speech |last=Chesnut |first=R. Andrew |title=Santa Muerte: The Fastest Growing New Religious Movement in the Americas |url=https://www.up.edu/garaventa/archives/lectures-and-readings/2017-2018-lectures-and-readings/andrew-chesnut-lecture.html |url-status=live |event=Lecture |date=26 October 2017 |location=[[Portland, Oregon]] |publisher=[[University of Portland]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207214656/https://www.up.edu/garaventa/archives/lectures-and-readings/2017-2018-lectures-and-readings/andrew-chesnut-lecture.html |archive-date=7 February 2021 |access-date=14 August 2021}}</ref> centered on the worship of Santa Muerte, a [[cult image]], [[female deity]], and [[folk saint]] which is popularly revered in [[Mexico|Mexican]] [[Modern Paganism|Neopaganism]] and [[folk Catholicism]].<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Chesnut |author-first=R. Andrew |title=Handbook of Global Contemporary Christianity: Movements, Institutions, and Allegiance |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-90-04-26539-4 |editor-last=Hunt |editor-first=Stephen J. |editor-link=Stephen J. Hunt |series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |volume=12 |location=[[Leiden]] |pages=336–353 |chapter=Healed by Death: Santa Muerte, the Curandera |doi=10.1163/9789004310780_017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-last=Flores Martos |author-first=Juan Antonio |title=Etnografías de la muerte y las culturas en América Latina |publisher=[[University of Castilla–La Mancha|Ediciones de la Universidad de Castilla–La Mancha]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-84-8427-578-7 |editor1-last=Flores Martos |editor1-first=Juan Antonio |location=[[Cuenca, Spain|Cuenca]] |pages=296–297 |language=es |chapter=La Santísima Muerte en Veracruz, México: Vidas Descarnadas y Práticas Encarnadas |editor2-last=González |editor2-first=Luisa Abad |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F992RDiGJKEC&pg=PA296}}</ref> A [[personification of death]], she is associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to the [[afterlife]] by her devotees.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chesnut |first=R. Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ul0vDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 |title=Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-19-063332-5 |edition=Second |location=[[New York City|New York]] |pages=6–7 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199764662.001.0001 |lccn=2011009177 |orig-date=2012}}</ref> Santa Muerte is also revered and seen as a saint and protector of the [[LGBT in Mexico|lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities in Mexico]],<ref name="CIESAS 2019">{{cite journal |last=Bárcenas Barajas |first=Karina |date=September–December 2019 |title=Apropiaciones LGBT de la religiosidad popular |url=https://desacatos.ciesas.edu.mx/index.php/Desacatos/article/view/2135/1491 |format=PDF |journal=Desacatos: Revista de Ciencias Sociales |language=es |location=[[Mexico City]] |publisher=Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social (CIESAS) |volume=61 |pages=98–113 |issn=2448-5144 |access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="hemisphericinstitute.org">{{cite magazine |last=Lorentzen |first=Lois Ann |date=2016 |editor1-last=Pellegrini |editor1-first=Anna |editor2-last=Vaggione |editor2-first=Juan Marco |title=Santa Muerte: Saint of the Dispossessed, Enemy of Church and State |url=https://hemisphericinstitute.org/en/emisferica-13-1-states-of-devotion/13-1-essays/santa-muerte-saint-of-the-dispossessed-enemy-of-church-and-state.html |url-status=live |magazine=Emisférica |location=[[New York City]] |publisher=[[Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics]] |volume=13 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730153106/https://hemisphericinstitute.org/en/emisferica-13-1-states-of-devotion/13-1-essays/santa-muerte-saint-of-the-dispossessed-enemy-of-church-and-state.html |archive-date=30 July 2019 |access-date=14 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Woodman |first=Stephen |date=31 March 2017 |title=How a skeleton folk saint of death took off with Mexican transgender women |work=[[USA Today]] |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/31/santa-muerte-death-transgender-women-mexico/99867052/ |url-status=live |access-date=17 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010080701/https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/31/santa-muerte-death-transgender-women-mexico/99867052/ |archive-date=10 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Villarreal |first=Daniel |date=6 April 2019 |title=Bishops tell Catholics to stop worshipping this unofficial LGBTQ-friendly saint of death: Even though "La Santa Muerte" is not a Church-sanctioned saint, millions of people still revere her |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/04/bishops-asking-catholics-stop-worshipping-unofficial-lgbtq-friendly-saint-death/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[LGBTQ Nation]] |location=[[San Francisco]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407080835/https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/04/bishops-asking-catholics-stop-worshipping-unofficial-lgbtq-friendly-saint-death/ |archive-date=7 April 2019 |access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2012 |title=Archives |url=http://www.outinthebay.com/archives.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424085030/http://www.outinthebay.com/archives.htm |archive-date=2012-04-24 |website=outinthebay.com |publisher=Out In The Bay}}</ref> since LGBTQ+ people are considered and treated as outcasts by the [[Catholic Church and homosexuality|Catholic Church]], [[Christianity and homosexuality#Evangelical churches|evangelical churches]], and Mexican society at large.<ref name="CIESAS 2019" /><ref name="hemisphericinstitute.org" /> Many LGBTQ+ people ask her for protection from violence, hatred, disease, and to help them in their search for love. Her intercession is commonly invoked in [[Same-sex marriage in Mexico City|same-sex marriage ceremonies]] performed in Mexico.<ref>{{cite news |date=2010-03-03 |title=Iglesia de Santa Muerte casa a gays – El Universal – Sociedad |newspaper=El Universal |url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/663167.html |access-date=2013-02-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=La Iglesia de Santa Muerte mexicana celebró su primera boda gay y prevé 9 más|url=http://www.abc.es/agencias/noticia.asp?noticia=296160 |access-date=2013-02-09 |newspaper=[[ABC (newspaper)|ABC]]|location=Madrid}}</ref> The [[Traditionalist Mexican-American Catholic Church|Iglesia Católica Tradicional México-Estados Unidos]], also known as the Church of Santa Muerte, [[Recognition of same-sex unions in Mexico|recognizes]] gay marriage and performs religious wedding ceremonies for homosexual couples.<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-01-24 |title=La Nueva Iglesia De La Santa Muerte Permite Bodas Gay |url=http://los21.com/vision21/?p=3400 |access-date=2013-02-09 |publisher=Los21.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2010-06-02 |title=La Santa Muerte celebra "bodas homosexuales" en México – México y Tradición |url=http://mexicoytradicion.over-blog.org/article-la-santa-muerte-celebra-bodas-homosexuales-en-mexico-51509467.html |access-date=2013-02-09 |publisher=Mexicoytradicion.over-blog.org |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2010-01-11 |title=Culto a la santa muerte casará a gays |url=http://www.tendenciagay.com/noticias/ampliar/789/culto-a-la-santa-muerte-casara-a-gays |access-date=2013-02-09 |publisher=Tendenciagay.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=2010-01-07 |title=Mexico's Holy Death Church Will Conduct Gay Weddings |work=Latin American Herald Tribune}}</ref> According to R. Andrew Chesnut, [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in [[History of Latin America|Latin American history]] and [[professor]] of [[Religious studies]], the cult of Santa Muerte is the single fastest-growing new religious movement in the Americas.<ref name="Chesnut 2017" />

====Scientology====
{{Main|Scientology and homosexuality}}

The [[Church of Scientology]] opposes same-sex marriage<ref name=About>{{cite news |title=About Scientology |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/18/Tampabay/About_Scientology.shtml |work=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |date=July 18, 2004 |access-date=September 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040810101057/http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/18/Tampabay/About_Scientology.shtml |archive-date=August 10, 2004}}</ref> and its founder [[L. Ron Hubbard]] called homosexuality a dangerous perversion.{{refn|<ref name=Boundaries>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Aled |year=2021 |title=Free Zone Scientology: Contesting the Boundaries of a New Religion |location=London |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/eRAYEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1|isbn=978-1-350-18254-7 }}</ref>{{rp|p=76}}<ref name=ScienceOfSurvival>{{cite book | last=Hubbard|first=Ron|author-link=L. Ron Hubbard | title=Science of Survival | publisher=Church of Scientology of California | year=1975 | isbn=0-88404-001-1 | url=https://archive.org/details/scienceofsurviva00lron_0/ }}</ref>{{rp|pp=88–90}}<ref name=FoundOut>{{Cite magazine |last=Power |first= Shannon |date=2023-09-26 |title=Ex-Scientologist reveals what happened when Church found out she was gay |url=https://www.newsweek.com/scientology-church-gay-miscavige-leah-remini-1829857|magazine=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref>}} The [[Church of Scientology]]'s perspectives on homosexuality are based on the writings of its founder, and his statements about homosexuality have led critics to assert that [[Scientology]] promotes [[homophobia]], and being gay or accused of being gay is viewed as negative in the Scientology community.<ref name=Humiliated>{{Cite magazine |date=2018-09-25 |title=When I Came Out as Gay, the Church of Scientology Humiliated Me|magazine=[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]] |url=https://www.elle.com/culture/a23025748/scientology-michelle-leclair-interview/ }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ross |first=Martha |date=2022-09-22 |title=Those John Travolta rumors? How Scientology shut them down |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/09/22/those-john-travolta-rumors-how-scientology-shut-them-down/ |access-date=2025-02-11 |newspaper=[[Mercury News]]|location=San Jose, California}}</ref> According to a 2018 source, currently used, updated editions of Hubbard's [[Canon (basic principle)|canonical]] book,<ref name=SacredTradition>{{Cite book |editor1-last=Lewis |editor1-first=James R. |editor1-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |editor2-first=Olav |editor2-last=Hammer |editor2-link=Olav Hammer |title=The Invention of Sacred Tradition |chapter=Scientology, scripture, and sacred tradition |first=Mikael |last=Rothstein |author-link=Mikael Rothstein |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780521864794 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511488450.002}}</ref>{{rp|p=21}} ''[[Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health|Dianetics]]'', continue to use [[heteronormative]] and [[Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric|anti-gay]] language and list gay people as perverts who are physically ill and extremely dangerous to society.<ref name=Boundaries/>{{rp|p=78}}<ref name=Dianetics>{{cite book | last=Hubbard|first=Ron|author-link=L. Ron Hubbard | title=Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health | publisher=[[Church of Scientology]]|location=Commerce, California | orig-date=1978 |date=2007 | isbn=9781403144461 |pages=125, 155, 177|url=https://archive.org/details/dianeticsmoderns0000hubb_t8p0/page/124/mode/2up?q=homosexuality|url-access=limited}}</ref> Some critics have stated that the church tried to [[Conversion therapy|change their gay attractions]] through forms of therapy.<ref name=FoundOut>{{Cite magazine |last=Power |first= Shannon |date=2023-09-26 |title=Ex-Scientologist reveals what happened when Church found out she was gay |url=https://www.newsweek.com/scientology-church-gay-miscavige-leah-remini-1829857|magazine=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |magazine=[[LGBTQ Nation]] |date=2016-03-25 |title=A grim glimpse into The Church of Scientology's jail for gay people |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2016/03/a-grim-glimpse-into-the-church-of-scientologys-jail-for-gay-people/}}</ref>

=== Pre-colonial religions of the Americas ===
[[File:Catlin_-_Dance_to_the_berdache.jpg|thumb|Drawing by [[George Catlin]] (1796–1872) while on the [[Great Plains]] among the [[Sac and Fox Nation]]. Depicting a group of male warriors dancing around a male-bodied person in a woman's dress, non-Native artist George Catlin titled the painting ''Dance to the Berdache''.]]
{{Main|Alaska Native religion|Mesoamerican religion|Native American religion|Inuit religion}}
Many Nations had respected ceremonial, religious, and social roles for gender nonconforming [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] and [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] communities, and these roles still exist.<ref name="Estrada">{{cite journal |last=Estrada |first=Gabriel S |date=2011 |title=Two Spirits, Nádleeh, and LGBTQ2 Navajo Gaze |url=http://nativeout.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Two-Spirits-Nadleeh-and-Navajo-LGBTQ2-Gaze.pdf |journal=American Indian Culture and Research Journal |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=167–190 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513044527/http://nativeout.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Two-Spirits-Nadleeh-and-Navajo-LGBTQ2-Gaze.pdf |archive-date=May 13, 2015 |access-date=September 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name="terms">{{cite web |title=Two Spirit Terms in Tribal Languages |url=http://nativeout.com/twospirit-rc/two-spirit-101/two-spirit-terms-in-tribal-languages/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102172337/http://nativeout.com/twospirit-rc/two-spirit-101/two-spirit-terms-in-tribal-languages/ |archive-date=January 2, 2015 |access-date=September 29, 2021 |website=Native Out}}</ref><ref name="de Vries 2009">{{cite book |last1=de Vries |first1=Kylan Mattias |title=Encyclopedia of gender and society |date=2009 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=9781412909167 |editor1-last=O'Brien |editor1-first=Jodi |location=Los Angeles |page=64 |chapter=Berdache (Two-Spirit) |access-date=6 March 2015 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_nyHS4WyUKEC}}</ref><ref name="Kehoe">{{cite web |last=Kehoe |first=Alice B. |author-link=Alice Beck Kehoe |date=2002 |title=Appropriate Terms |url=https://www.saa.org/publications/saabulletin/16-2/saa14.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041105120021/https://www.saa.org/publications/saabulletin/16-2/saa14.html |archive-date=2004-11-05 |access-date=2019-05-01 |work=SAA Bulletin |publisher=Society for American Archaeology 16(2), [[UC-Santa Barbara]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Roscoe |first=Will |title=LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/lgbtqheritage/upload/lgbtqtheme-nativeamerica.pdf |website=National Park Service}}</ref> Homosexual and gender-variant individuals were also common among other pre-[[Spanish colonization of the Americas|conquest]] civilizations in [[Latin America]], such as the [[Aztec]]s, [[Maya civilization|Mayans]], [[Quechuas]], [[Moche (culture)|Moches]], [[Zapotec civilization|Zapotecs]], and the [[Tupinambá people|Tupinambá]] of Brazil and were accepted in their various religions.<ref name="glbtqlatinamerica">{{citation |last=Pablo |first=Ben |title=Latin America: Colonial |url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/latin_america_colonial.html |periodical=[[glbtq.com]] |year=2004 |access-date=2007-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211012339/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/latin_america_colonial.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-12-11}}</ref><ref name="glbtqmex">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2004 |title=Mexico |encyclopedia=glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture |publisher=[[glbtq.com|glbtq, Inc.]] |url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/mexico.html |access-date=2007-08-01 |last=Murray |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen O. Murray |editor=Claude J. Summers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102132531/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/mexico.html |archive-date=2007-11-02 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

However, the indigenous peoples of the Americas include hundreds of cultures with varying views on sex, gender, and spirituality. Additionally, First Nations and indigenous views on gender and sexuality may not fall within modern Western categorizations of sex and gender.<ref>{{Cite news |title=For many Native Americans, embracing LGBT members is a return to the past |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/for-many-native-americans-embracing-lgbt-members-is-a-return-to-the-past/2019/03/29/24d1e6c6-4f2c-11e9-88a1-ed346f0ec94f_story.html |access-date=2021-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-20 |title=Indigenous Sexualities: Resisting Conquest and Translation |url=https://www.e-ir.info/2019/08/20/indigenous-sexualities-resisting-conquest-and-translation/ |access-date=2021-12-11 |website=E-International Relations |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gender and Sexuality in Native America: Many People, Many Meanings |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/gender-and-sexuality-in-native-america.htm |website=National Park Service |language=en |access-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207154000/https://www.nps.gov/articles/gender-and-sexuality-in-native-america.htm |archive-date=February 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Enos |first=Tony |title=8 Things You Should Know About Two Spirit People |url=https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/8-misconceptions-things-know-two-spirit-people |access-date=2021-12-11 |newspaper=Ict News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Anayah |first=Stephanie |title=LibGuides: Williams Institute Reading Room: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resources in Law and Public Policy: LGBT / Two Spirit Native Americans |url=https://libguides.law.ucla.edu/c.php?g=183364&p=5550803 |access-date=2021-12-11 |website=libguides.law.ucla.edu |language=en}}</ref>

=== Pre-colonial religions of the Philippines ===
{{Main|Filipino shamans|Indigenous Philippine folk religions|LGBT rights in the Philippines}}
Filipino shamans, often known as ''babaylan'' held positions of authority as religious leaders or healers in some precolonial Philippine societies''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Nantawan B |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLnHBQAAQBAJ |title=Remembering Conquest: Feminist/Womanist Perspectives on Religion, Colonization, and Sexual Violence |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-78946-8 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=VLnHBQAAQBAJ&dq=babaylan&pg=PT69 698]}}</ref>'' Cross-dressing or gender nonconforming males sometimes took on the role of the female babaylan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Garcia |first=J. Neil C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=93lag7tXriIC |title=Philippine Gay Culture: Binabae to Bakla, Silahis to MSM |publisher=UP Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-971-542-577-3 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=93lag7tXriIC&dq=babaylan+%22cross-dressers%22+transvestites&pg=PA162 162–163]}}</ref> Early historical accounts record the existence of male ''babaylans'' who wore female clothes and took the demeanor of a woman.<ref name="Alcina 195–209">{{Cite book |last=Alcina |first=Francisco |title=Historia de las Islas e Indios de Bisayas |pages=195–209}}</ref><ref name="Ribadeneira 1947 50">{{Cite book |last=Ribadeneira |first=Marcelo de |title=History of the Islands of the Philippine Archipelago and the Kingdoms of Great China, Tartary, Cochinchina, Malaca, Siam, Cambodge and Japan |publisher=La Editorial Catolica |year=1947 |location=Barcelona |pages=50}}</ref> Anatomy was not the only basis for gender. Being male or female was based primarily on occupation, appearance, actions and sexuality. A male ''babaylan'' could partake in romantic and sexual relations with other men without being judged by society.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Garcia |first=J. Neil |title=Philippine gay culture : the last thirty years : binabae to bakla, silahis to MSM |publisher=Hong Kong University Press, 2009, c2008. |year=2009 |isbn=9789622099852 |location=Hong Kong |pages=162–163, 166, 170–173, 191, 404}}</ref> A small number of Filipinos practice local indigenous religions today.<ref>{{Citation |title=Philippines |date=2021-11-16 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/philippines/#people-and-society |work=The World Factbook |access-date=2021-11-24 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>

===Paganism===
[[File:Queer Pagan Flag.svg|thumb|right|150 px|Queer Pagan flag combining a [[pentagram]] and [[Rainbow flag (LGBT movement)|LGBTQ flag]].|alt=Rectangular flag with black background. A circumscribed pentagram (known as a pentacle) with black lines and a LGBTQ rainbow background sits in the center.]]
{{Main|Modern paganism and LGBTQ people}}
{{Main|LGBT themes in mythology|l1=LGBT themes in ancient myths}}

====Radical Faeries====
The [[Radical Faeries]] are a worldwide [[queer]] [[Spirituality|spiritual]] movement, founded in 1979 in the [[United States]].

====Wicca====
The Wiccan ''[[Charge of the Goddess]]'', one of the most famous texts in [[Neopaganism]], states in the words of the Goddess, "all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals".<ref>{{cite web |title=Alternative Sexuality |publisher=Tangled Moon Coven |date=8 August 2006 |url=http://www.tangledmoon.org/sexuality.htm |access-date=30 December 2006 }}</ref> In traditional forms of Wicca, such as [[Gardnerian Wicca|Gardnerian]] and [[Alexandrian Wicca]], magic is often performed between a man and a woman, and the "[[Great Rite]]" is a sex ritual performed between a Priest and Priestess representing the God and Goddess;<ref>{{cite journal |title=Sex, Wicca and the Great Rite |journal=The Blade & Chalice |date=1993 |issue=3 }}</ref> however, this is not generally seen as excluding homosexuals or magic between same-sex couples. While many groups still insist that initiations be conferred from man to woman or woman to man, Wicca has become a very diverse religion with varying views. As there is no central governing body nor a core authoritative text, individual covens and practitioners often establish their own guidelines. Many self-initiates are LGBTQ+ and form queer-centered covens and traditions.

===Satanism===
[[File:Gay sigil of baphomet.png|upright|right|thumb|Rainbow version of common Satanic symbol]]
Both major Satanic traditions, [[The Satanic Temple]] and the [[Church of Satan]],<ref>{{cite book|last=LaVey|first=Anton Szandor|author-link=Anton LaVey|title=The Satanic Bible|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nFKymDweQLcC&pg=PA113|access-date=22 April 2010|year=1969|publisher=Avon Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-380-01539-9|oclc=26042819|page=66}}</ref> emphasise the right of the individual to free sexual expression. [[Lucien Greaves]], spokesperson of The Satanic Temple, has stated the Temple "will always fight... to the death to ensure that there are equal rights for the gay community."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Duffy |first=Nick |date=2019-08-23 |title=Half of Satanists identify as LGBT |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/08/23/the-satanic-temple-is-in-favour-of-equal-rights-for-lgbt-people/ |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=PinkNews }}</ref> 

Some [[Theistic Satanism|Theistic Satanists]] like the [[Order of Nine Angles]] are extremely homophobic, and support and perpetrate hate crimes against gay people, like the [[Keillers Park murder]] perpetrated by the ONA group [[Temple of the Black Light]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.svenskamord.se/mordet-keillers-park/|title=Mordet i Keillers park|website=Svenska Mord|language=sv-SE|access-date=2019-02-08}}</ref><ref name="Upchurch 2021">{{Cite journal |date=22 December 2021 |editor-last=Cruickshank |editor-first=Paul |editor2-last=Hummel |editor2-first=Kristina |title=The Iron March Forum and the Evolution of the 'Skull Mask' Neo-Fascist Network |url=https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/CTC-SENTINEL-102021.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[CTC Sentinel]] |location=[[West Point, New York]] |publisher=[[Combating Terrorism Center]] |volume=14 |issue=10 |pages=27–37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227044425/https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/CTC-SENTINEL-102021.pdf |archive-date=27 December 2021 |access-date=19 January 2022 |author-last=Upchurch |author-first=H. E.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.isdglobal.org/explainers/the-order-of-nine-angles-explainer/|title=The Order of Nine Angles explainer|date=1 August 2024|work=[[Institute for Strategic Dialogue]]}}</ref> The [[London nailbomber]] that targeted the LGBT people and migrants was also inspired by ONA founder [[David Myatt]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://searchlightmagazine.com/2024/04/25-years-on-the-hunt-for-the-london-nailbomber/|work=[[Searchlight Magazine]]|title=25 years on: The hunt for the London nailbomber|date=6 May 2025}}</ref>

===Unitarian Universalism===
{{Main|Unitarian Universalism and LGBTQ people}}

The first ordained minister of a major religious sect in the U.S. or Canada to [[come out of the closet|come out]] as gay was the UU Minister [[James Stoll]] in 1969.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uupetaluma.org/sermons/sermon09jan05.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050217204501/http://www.uupetaluma.org/sermons/sermon09jan05.html|title=UUP Sermon: "My Greatly Human Hometown Minister"|archive-date=17 February 2005|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> There have been denominational resolutions supporting LGBTQ people since 1970, when a resolution was passed that condemned discrimination against homosexuals. Unitarian Universalism was the first denomination to accept openly [[transgender]] people as full members with eligibility to become clergy; in 1988 the first openly transgender person was ordained by the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]] (UUA).<ref name="uua.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/185789.shtml|title=Unitarian Universalist LGBTQ History & Facts|work=UUA.org|access-date=22 August 2015|date=16 May 2013|archive-date=4 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204055552/http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/185789.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=http://www.uua.org/aboutus/professionalstaff/identity-basedministries/bisexualgay/25237.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100813112933/http://www.uua.org/aboutus/professionalstaff/identity-basedministries/bisexualgay/25237.shtml|url-status=dead|title=Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns|archive-date=13 August 2010}}</ref><ref name="religioustolerance.org">{{Cite web |url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_uua.htm |title=Transexuality, transgenderism, and gender identity |website=Religious Tolerance |access-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-date=24 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724233813/http://religioustolerance.org/hom_uua.htm}}</ref>

The UUA has supported marriage equality since 1996<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uua.org/news/freedomtomarry/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060716123613/http://www.uua.org/news/freedomtomarry/index.html|url-status=dead|title=UUA.org|archive-date=16 July 2006}}</ref> and compared those who resisted such equality to the resistance to the [[abolition of slavery]], women's [[suffrage]], and the end of anti-[[miscegenation]] laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uusm.org/services/021305.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050318105443/http://www.uusm.org/services/021305.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 March 2005|title=UUSM - Services & Sermons|date=18 March 2005}}</ref> Three-quarters of all UU congregations have undertaken a series of organizational, procedural, and practical steps to become acknowledged as a "Welcoming Congregation": a congregation that is intentionally welcoming and inclusive of LGBTQ members.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Find a Unitarian Universalist Congregation |url=https://www.uua.org/find/results |website=Unitarian Universalist Association |access-date=January 27, 2024 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307034952/https://www.uua.org/find/results |archive-date=March 7, 2022}}</ref> On June 29, 1984, the UUA became the first major denomination "to approve religious blessings on homosexual unions." Unitarian Universalists were in the forefront of the work to make same-sex marriages legal in their local states and provinces, as well as on the national level. In May 2004, [[Arlington Street Church]], Boston, was the site of the first state-sanctioned same-sex marriage in the United States. LGBTQ people are regularly ordained as ministers, and have also served at the highest levels of leadership in the denomination, including as president of the Canadian Unitarian Council, interim co-president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, and co-moderator of the UUA.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kiely |first=Brian J. |date=September 28, 2014 |title=Why Unitarianism Matters |url=https://www.uce.ca/why-unitarianism-matters/ |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=Unitarian Church of Edmonton |language=en-CA |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307034952/https://www.uce.ca/why-unitarianism-matters/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/officers/president/past/sofia-betancourt-william-g-sinkford-and-leon-spencer |title=Sofía Betancourt, William G. Sinkford, and Leon Spencer, 2017 |website=Unitarian Universalist Association |access-date=January 27, 2024 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307034951/https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/officers/president/past/sofia-betancourt-william-g-sinkford-and-leon-spencer |archive-date=March 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mcardle |first=Elaine |date=2020-06-01 |title=As first UUA co-moderators' term nears end, leaders reflect on their impact |url=https://www.uuworld.org/articles/co-moderator-impact |access-date= |website=UU World Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

===Humanism===
[[Humanism]] is a non-religious, non-theistic approach to life that supports full equality for LGBTQ individuals,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://iheu.org/content/homosexual-rights|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130717161614/http://iheu.org/content/homosexual-rights|url-status=dead|title=Homosexual rights - International Humanist and Ethical Union|date=17 July 2013|archive-date=17 July 2013|website=archive.is}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lgbthumanists.org/about/|title=LGBTQ Humanists - About the LGBTQ Humanist Council|work=LGBTQ Humanists|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> including the right to marry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanhumanist.org/news/details/2013-02-humanists-tell-supreme-court-marriage-equality-is-th|title=Humanists Tell Supreme Court: Marriage Equality is the Right Choice|work=American Humanist Association|access-date=22 August 2015|date=27 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://humanist-society.org/for-celebrants/resources/|title=Resources for Celebrants|access-date=22 August 2015|archive-date=15 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815002530/http://humanist-society.org/for-celebrants/resources/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Humanism and Its Aspirations'', a statement of humanist principles from the [[American Humanist Association]], states that "humanists are concerned for the well being of all, are committed to diversity, and respect those of differing yet humane views...work to uphold the equal enjoyment of human rights and civil liberties in an open, secular society and maintain it is a civic duty to participate in the democratic process and a planetary duty to protect nature's integrity, diversity, and beauty in a secure, sustainable manner."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanhumanist.org/humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_III|title=Humanist Manifesto III|work=American Humanist Association|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> The American Humanist Association provides an LGBT Humanist Pride award<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lgbthumanists.org/blog/aha-awards-greta-christina-lgbt-humanist-of-the-year-award/|title=LGBTQ Humanists - Dan Savage, Greta Christina Among Humanist Awardees at AHA Annual Conference|work=LGBTQ Humanists|access-date=22 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725170553/http://lgbthumanists.org/blog/aha-awards-greta-christina-lgbt-humanist-of-the-year-award/|archive-date=25 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and has funded an LGBT-inclusive prom for Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Mississippi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/2010/05/second-chance-prom-in-mississippi-great-success-humanists-say/|title=Second Chance Prom in Mississippi Great Success, Humanists Say|access-date=22 August 2015|archive-date=25 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725162836/http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/2010/05/second-chance-prom-in-mississippi-great-success-humanists-say/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The organisation [[LGBT Humanists UK]]  "is a United Kingdom-based not-for-profit that campaigns for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality and human rights and promotes Humanism as an ethical worldview." It was formerly an independent group, but since 2012 has been a part of the charity [[Humanists UK]]. In 2009 they gave [[Stephen Fry]] an award "for his services to humanism and gay rights."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/11/16/stephen-fry-wins-gay-humanist-award/|title=Stephen Fry wins gay humanist award|work=PinkNews|access-date=22 August 2015|date=16 November 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lgbthistoryuk.org/wiki/index.php?title=Gay_and_Lesbian_Humanist_Association|title=Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association|access-date=22 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725175044/http://www.lgbthistoryuk.org/wiki/index.php?title=Gay_and_Lesbian_Humanist_Association|archive-date=25 July 2015}}</ref>

Humanists UK Chief Executive [[Andrew Copson]], who is gay, once wrote that "humanists have always been champions of LGBT rights" and cited his organisation's many years campaigning for decriminalisation and LGBT equality in the UK, including legal same-sex marriages. He pointed out the large number of LGBT people in the movement, including Stephen Fry, [[Christian Jessen]], and [[Peter Tatchell]], as well as historical associations with humanism like the writer [[Virginia Woolf]] and [[E M Forster]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/06/21/comment-humanists-have-always-been-champions-of-lgbt-rights/|last=Copson|first=Andrew|work=[[Pink News]]|access-date=14 June 2018|date=21 June 2015|title=Comment: Humanists have always been champions of LGBT rights}}</ref> In a statement following the [[Orlando nightclub shooting]] for the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]], of which Copson is also President, he went further, saying "Humanism is the ultimate, long-standing and unfaltering ally of LGBTI people everywhere".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iheu.org/humanism-is-the-ultimate-long-standing-and-unfaltering-ally-of-lgbti-people-everywhere/|title=Humanism is the ultimate, long-standing and unfaltering ally of LGBTI people everywhere.|last=Copson|first=Andrew|access-date=14 June 2018|work=International Humanist and Ethical Union|date=13 June 2016|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614171531/https://iheu.org/humanism-is-the-ultimate-long-standing-and-unfaltering-ally-of-lgbti-people-everywhere/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Unification Church===
[[Unification Church]] views heterosexual marriage which becomes "fruitful" by raising their children as God's ideal. Any other sexual relationship, than between husband and wife, is considered a sin. 
Unification Church founder [[Sun Myung Moon]] opposed homosexuality and free sex and in some of his speeches compared such relationships to "dirty dung filled water" and that "Satan and dirty dung-eating dogs go after that".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moon|first1=Sun Myung|title=The Family Federation for Cosmic Peace and Unification and the Cosmic Era of the Blessed Family|url=http://www.unification.net/1997/970504.html|website=unification.net|access-date=30 November 2015}}</ref> He prophesied that "gays will be eliminated" in a "purge on God's orders".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Unification Church and Homosexuality |url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_uni.htm |website=ReligiousTolerance.org |publisher=Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance |access-date=30 November 2015 |archive-date=2 August 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030802213412/http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_uni.htm}}</ref>

==Religious groups and public policy==
Opposition to [[same-sex marriage]] and [[LGBT rights]] is often associated with conservative religious views. The [[American Family Association]] and other religious groups have promoted boycotts of corporations whose policies support the LGBT community.

In conservative Islamic nations, laws generally prohibit same-sex sexual behaviour, and interpretation of [[Sharia Law]] on male homosexuality carries the death penalty.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/21/gay-lgbt-muslim-countries-middle-east |title=Everything you need to know about being gay in Muslim countries |last=Whitaker |first=Brian |date=June 21, 2016 |website=The Guardian |access-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160621105209/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/21/gay-lgbt-muslim-countries-middle-east |archive-date=June 21, 2016}}</ref> This has been condemned as a violation of human rights by human rights organisation [[Amnesty International]] and by the writers of the [[Yogyakarta principles]]. With the signature of the US in 2009, the proposed [[UN declaration on LGBT rights]] has now been signed by every European secular state and all western nations, as well as other countries—67 members of the UN in total. An opposing statement put forward by Muslim nations was signed by 57 member states, mostly in Africa and Asia. 68 out of the total 192 countries have not yet signed either statement. In 2011 the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]] passed a landmark resolution initiated by [[South Africa]] supporting LGBT rights (''See [[Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity at the United Nations]]'').<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2011-06-28/u-n-human-rights-council-first-resolution-against-discrimination-based-on-sexual-orientation/#:~:text=(June%2028%2C%202011)%20On,priority%20issue%E2%80%9D%20of%20the%20U.N. |title=U.N. Human Rights Council: First Resolution Against Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation |last=Zeldin |first=Wendy |date=June 28, 2011 |website=Library of Congress |access-date=January 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716163101/https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2011-06-28/u-n-human-rights-council-first-resolution-against-discrimination-based-on-sexual-orientation/ |archive-date=July 16, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/06/17/historic-decision-united-nations |title=Historic Decision at the United Nations |date=June 17, 2011 |website=Human Rights Watch |access-date=January 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106062609/https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/06/17/historic-decision-united-nations |archive-date=January 6, 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
{{commons category}}
{{Portal|Religion|LGBTQ}}
* [[Culture war]]
* [[LGBT rights by country or territory]]
* [[Religion and sexuality]]
* [[Religious trauma syndrome]]
* [[The Bible and homosexuality]]
* [[Side A, Side B, Side X, Side Y (theological views)]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|2}}
* [[John Boswell (historian)|John Boswell]], [[Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality|''Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century'']], University Of Chicago Press, 1st ed. 1980 {{ISBN|0-226-06710-6}}, paperback November 2005 {{ISBN|0-226-06711-4}}
* [[Claussen, D. S.]] 2002. Sex, Religion, Media. Rowman & Littlefield.{{ISBN|0-7425-1558-3}}
*Etengoff, C. & Daiute, C., (2015). Clinicians’ perspectives of religious families’ and gay men’s negotiation of sexual orientation disclosure and prejudice, Journal of Homosexuality, 62(3), 394-426. 
*Etengoff, C. & Daiute, C. (2014). Family Members’ Uses of Religion in Post–Coming-Out Conflicts With Their Gay Relative. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. 6(1), 33-43. {{doi|10.1037/a0035198}}
* Hurteau, P. (2013). ''Male Homosexualities and World Religions'', Palgrave. {{ISBN|978-1349475117}}.
* Johnson, P. and Vanderbeck, R.M. (2014) ''Law, Religion and Homosexuality'', Abingdon: Routledge. 
* [[Francis MacNutt|Macnutt, Francis]] (2006) "Can Homosexuality Be Healed?" publisher 'Chosen Books', {{ISBN|0-8007-9409-5}}
* [[Arlene Swidler]]: ''Homosexuality and World Religions.'' Valley Forge 1993. {{ISBN|1-56338-051-X}}
* {{cite book |title=Same-sex love in India: readings from literature and history |last1=Vanita |first1=Ruth |last2=Kidwai |first2=Saleem |year=2001 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-312-29324-6}}
* Wafer, Jim (1991) "The Taste of Blood: Spirit Possession in Brazilian Candomblé" UPP Philadelphia
{{refend}}

{{Religion and LGBT people}}
{{Religion topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Religion and topic}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Religion And Homosexuality}}
[[Category:Religion and LGBTQ people|*]]
[[Category:Sexual ethics]]
[[Category:Homosexuality]]